Make Your Own Professional Painting Canvas
Updated: Jun 17
Preparing a professional canvas enables the artist to control the dimension and the quality of the artwork. The first thing to consider is the fabric, the type of thread the canvas would be made of, it could be Linen, cotton, or synthetic fabric.
Linen fabric comes first in terms of strength and not absorbing refined paint oils (a major side effect in cotton fabrics).
After choosing your canvas fabric, prepare scissors, Tape measure, T square ruler, and a pencil, draw then cut your dimensions on the fabric right-angled.
Stretch the canvas fabric on a wooden frame, using a stabler stretch your piece of linen fabric on a wooden frame.
"After stretching the fabric on the wooden support apply Gesso."
"What is Polyvinyl acetate?"
Traditional gesso. "Gesso", also known as "glue gesso" or "Italian gesso" is a traditional mix of an animal glue binder, chalk, and white pigment used to coat rigid surfaces such as wooden painting panels as an absorbent primer coat substrate for painting.
The color of the gesso was usually white or off-white. In modern recipes the use of synthetic Glue Polyvinyl acetate instead of animal glue as a binder is common, the synthetic glue is more sustainable and resistant to decomposition.
polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), a synthetic resin. In its most important application, polyvinyl acetate serves as the film-forming ingredient in water-based (latex) paints; it also is used in adhesives.
Spread the Gesso on the stretched fabric and allow it to dry, after the canvas is completely dry sanding is required before the application of another layer of Gesso. After two or three layers of Gesso, start sanding for the final surface finish, the linen canvas is now ready to paint on.
