How to Choose a Type of Canvas

How to Choose a Canvas Type
Beginning artists often find it a bit daunting to choose the right types of supplies to create their first masterpiece, including the type of canvas that they should use. Some may even make the assumption that all types of canvas are alike, but this is certainly not true, even though they make appear similar at first glance. There are pros and cons of each type of canvas. Let’s look at how to choose the right canvas for your particular needs.

Types of Fabric Used for Artist Canvas
Artist canvas can be made from duck cotton, linen, a blend, or from synthetic fibers. Duck cotton is the most popular type of canvas by far, likely due to its lower price. Linen is more luxurious and thought to be more durable while providing a superb surface upon which to paint, although it is more costly. Synthetic fiber blends may be the best type of canvas for beginning painters. When purchasing canvas, thread count is important; the lower the thread count, the looser the weave and the more texture will be evident on the surface prior to priming.

Ready to Paint Canvas or Make Your Own?
New painters tend to always select a pre-stretched canvas that has already been primed, and that does simplify things a bit. You just purchase the product, unwrap it, and then you are ready to paint. No need for construction, stretching, priming, or waiting. Simply put, no technical know-how is necessary. However, you will need to choose pre-primed canvas that is primed for either oils or acrylics. Acrylic primed canvas can be used for all mediums, with the exception of gouache and watercolors. Oil primed canvas can only be used with oils, either traditional oil paints or water soluble varieties.
Those artists who have some experience under their belts and know a bit more about canvas may also elect to purchase stretched canvas, but they might go for an unprimed canvas. Priming the canvas yourself allows you the most versatility in preparing the surface. Primer or gesso is used as a primer to create a smoother surface to paint upon, and the more layers added, the smoother the surface will be. You can also sand the surface to create a smoother platform to apply color.

Professional artists often have very precise and exact needs or explicit desires and thus choose to stretch their own canvas. This allows them the freedom to be very versatile in sizing and styling the canvas, particularly when creating an abstract piece. Building the canvas from scratch necessitates the building of a frame, stretching unprimed canvas over that frame, and securing it. Canvas is sold in rolls just for this purpose, both in cotton duck and linen varieties. There is a definite learning curve to stretching canvas, and taking a few lessons on the technique needed is usually a good idea.