I’ve watched Marks video on canvas and panels.
He points out the little points of glare the you get with cotton canvas vs linen.
Your thought on cotton duck vs linen?
I’ve never painted in linen and am wondering what kind of linen to use? What weight or grade? And what brands or suppliers you use.
I also am wondering what stretcher bars you use. I think the thin bars are not sturdy enough for larger paintings. Anything over 16x20”
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Comments
I use the finest weave aluminium I can find.
Denis
The downside to linen is that it's more expensive. By way of comparison, I had a look at current prices at the Australian art store I use to buy materials online. A 10 meter roll of 12oz double primed cotton canvas costs $AU299 whereas a 10 meter roll of Belgian linen would set me back $AU1040. The prices in US dollars will be different of course but the relative cost of each will be similar in the US. I like the feel of 12 oz cotton better than I like the linen which is stiffer. And the cotton is easier to stretch. You can also get a poly-cotton but I haven't tried it.
I wouldn't use thin bars for big paintings. They warp. I use strong pine stretcher bars that measure 42mm (1.65") wide 32mm (1.25") thick. For anything over about 36" in length I use a central brace to avoid warping towards the center.
Hope this is helpful.
Rob
Anyone in the US that has a good source for linen and stretcher bars?
Yeah. 16x20 is the convenient size of ACM for me. Coincidently though l have been working up to a 1200 x 600mm (25x50) abstract nude using polypropylene (YUPO) and a sheet of flat white acrylic (SunTuf) roofing product in prep for a large ACM.
https://youtu.be/9YjaMT36sL8
To fill in the the valleys in the canvas texture you need to slap the gesso on very thickly then sand back. Does that oil ground take long to dry? Acrylic gesso dries quickly.
I have painted direct on to ACM. Prefer to coat with Berger Precision water based max adherence primer.
Ask the dealer to tint the white primer to a mid grey or rust brown.
Clear gesso is another option if you want extra tooth.
A couple of good articles on the virtues and vices of aluminium panels for your scrap books.
Denis
A short and authoritative paper, from the Ottawa Symposium on Conservation of Contemporary Art National Gallery Canada) July 1980, sets out the case for Polyester fabrics.
This is about 40 years old now. Aluminium composites, PVC, Mylar and Polypropylene, copper and aluminium plate would likely change the emphasis on polyester fabric. Nonetheless it sets out some of the deficiencies in linen and cotton as a painting support.
Denis
Linen is better because it has a higher tensile strength. Last year I bought prepared panel at the Dollarama, a plywood very competently glued onto a frame basically an upside down tray, for 3 dollars, it was maybe 18x16. They also sell canvases. So cotton has the whole lower end. Nobody talks about cotton at the upper end. So part of the problem is that conversation moves on to linen, regardless of how much better it is. And it is a premium material, and people buying art only have to read one article that drops the word, to then assume every cotton painted canvas is by someone who doesn't respect their own work. But that isn't the science, it is a combination of things.
I wrote to them and they are sending me samples of each of their Polyflax canvases. I've been using a roll of one of them to stretch my canvases and like it. It will be interesting to see the samples of the others.
The canvas I've been using is their model 901. I can stretch it very tightly and haven't noticed any relaxation. I've noticed that some of the cotton canvases I've stretched lose their tautness after a year or two. Of course, this is not scientific at all. Just an observation.
The only linen I can afford are the Centurion linen panels.
So, at least one artist canvas manufacturer has paid attention to the conservators!
Centurion stretched line are excellent. The Fredrix polyester is too stretchy. Too abrasive. Canvas made correctly shouldn't sag. Linen may sag do to humidity changes. My Centurion canvas don't seem too. Using pro grade expensive stretches solve sagging linen for me but at way too expensive.
Claseen double prime is the best for me. The texture and surface feed-back make painting truly a joy. But $$$$.
I haven't tried the Centurion stretched canvases. Only their panels, which I like a lot. I'll have to try some and maybe some of their rolls.
I've been using the Fredrix Cherokee Style 901 canvas for stretching my portrait canvases, which is a polyester/cotton blend. After I stretch it as tightly as I like it, I haven't had any problems with it being too stretchy at all. My only objection to it is that it's a little coarser than I would like.
Were you working with their pre-stretched canvases? I've found that sometimes machine stretched canvases aren't tight enough for me.
i haven't tried gluing canvas or other cloth to a panel, but have glued watercolor paper to a panel and it worked out quite well. I uses 300# and 140# Arches and glued it on with Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Medium.
I plan to get some Gatorboard and will experiment with some left over Polyflax that I have. Ultimately, I would like to make my own linen panels using Gatorboard and Centurion roll canvas.
I think I'll try Charlie Hunter's idea with some muslin too! Maybe other fabrics as well. I wonder how silk would work?