Stretching and Priming canvas
It's a simple task to perform but most of us artists would rather save the time and effort it takes to stretch and prime our canvas. Afterall, you can go to your local art supply store and buy just about any of the standard sizes, stretched to perfection, primed and ready to use. They are usually quite inexpensive but they may not be exactly what you want. For those of you that need anything other than a standard size, and have always wanted to know how to stretch and prime canvas I have the following steps to follow:
Materials:
length of raw 10 oz. canvas
4 wood stretcher sticks, for this project 11" x 14"
Acrylic gesso, at least 16 oz.
water for cleanup
Tools:
2" Utility acrylic Paint brush or 4" roller
Canvas stretcher (optional)
Staple gun with no less than 1/4" length staples
hammer
1. Assemble the stretchers by inserting the "tails" into the "grooves" of the adjoining stick. Use a right angle square to be sure the sides are square. If they are out of square you will have problems when it comes time to frame it. Maybe you want it to be a parallelagram, who knows. Anyway afer all four sticks are assembled you can see that there is a side with ridges and the other slopes down toward the centre of the frame.
2. Cut or tear your canvas into the size required for this project. You will need 2" (10 cm) extra all around, so if your finished size will be 11" x 14", your canvas size will be 15" x 18" (11+2+2=15) x (14+2+2=18). The 2" all around is your wrap as you will see in the next step.
3. Begin to stretch your canvas by laying the assembled stretcher face down and centred over the square or rectangle. Be sure that the side with ridges is facing up, otherwise you will have problems painting on the canvas at the edges. Using the staple gun, tack the canvas with three staples approximately 1/2" apart on one side. Let's call this the first even side.
4. Pick up and rotate the whole thing 180 degrees or if you can walk around your table, go to the other side. My table is quite large so I have to pick it up and rotate it. Now stretch the canvas as tight as you can using your fingers and tack three more staples in, approx. 1/2" apart from each other. Let's call this the second even side.
I use a canvas stretcher and save my precious fingers for more delicate work, so you might want to invest in one of these tools as well. I think it was less than $20.00 and well worth the money.
5. Repeat the process on the other two sides. Note that when you tack the canvas on the first odd side, don't stretch it too tight. Stretch it tight on the second odd side, otherwise you will pull the canvas too far and not have enough to work with on the second odd side.
Now you need to go back to the first even side and tug the canvas to the left and right of the original staples, putting in one or two in each position, rotate the frame and do the same on the other even side. Rotate 90 degrees and stretch and tack on the first odd side, then the second odd side. You can see that before very long you have worked out to the corners and don't have very much left canvas left to stretch.
6. The last detail is to mitre the corners, just like you were making your bed (sure). Fold the corners and tack the excess in a uniform way so that when you are looking at the completed project there is a uniformity to its' construction. I like my work to look professional and strive to address the details such as corners. Your stretched canvas should be tight. If you ping it with your finger it should ring and have a good solid sound to it. If it is too tight, you can actually warp the wood frame. You will get a feel for how tight it should be after you do a few stretching projects
7. One thing I like to do and may be necessary for your work is to use the hammer and gently hammer in the staples that may be sticking up a bit. It sets them in place and there is less chance that the staples will work their way out as you apply pressure to painting surface.
8. Now you are ready to apply the gesso to the front and sides of the stretched canvas. Using your utility brush or roller begin to apply the first coat of gesso. Cover the entire surface and sides evenly. Raw canvas is very thirsty and will absorb most of the gesso in the first coat. I prop my canvases up on wood blocks to I can easily get around them and cover all the surfaces without getting them stuck on the paper I've laid out to protect my table top.
9. When the first coat of gesso is dry, lightly sand the surface all around and apply another coat. Two coats is good for me and the work I do. Some artists apply so many coats of gesso, the surface is as smooth as hot pressed watercolour paper. I like a lot of "tooth" so I might apply three coats on the odd occasion, but usually two is sufficient for me to paint on.
10. All that is left to do is clean up the brush, put your tools away and leave the wet canvas flat to dry. Let it dry for a few hours and you are ready to paint!
Notes: I find that stretching canvas and whole business of priming is quite laborious and not unpleasant work. I get exactly the sizes I want on the surface that I like. Therefore, I will produce as many as I can fit in my studio all in one day. I start early in the morning, stetch 6 or so, prime them and let them dry while I do something else, like sketches that will eventually become the paintings. Stretching your own canvas will give you a sense of complete control from beginning to end of your painting experience. Enjoy!
Materials:
length of raw 10 oz. canvas
4 wood stretcher sticks, for this project 11" x 14"
Acrylic gesso, at least 16 oz.
water for cleanup
Tools:
2" Utility acrylic Paint brush or 4" roller
Canvas stretcher (optional)
Staple gun with no less than 1/4" length staples
hammer
1. Assemble the stretchers by inserting the "tails" into the "grooves" of the adjoining stick. Use a right angle square to be sure the sides are square. If they are out of square you will have problems when it comes time to frame it. Maybe you want it to be a parallelagram, who knows. Anyway afer all four sticks are assembled you can see that there is a side with ridges and the other slopes down toward the centre of the frame.
2. Cut or tear your canvas into the size required for this project. You will need 2" (10 cm) extra all around, so if your finished size will be 11" x 14", your canvas size will be 15" x 18" (11+2+2=15) x (14+2+2=18). The 2" all around is your wrap as you will see in the next step.
3. Begin to stretch your canvas by laying the assembled stretcher face down and centred over the square or rectangle. Be sure that the side with ridges is facing up, otherwise you will have problems painting on the canvas at the edges. Using the staple gun, tack the canvas with three staples approximately 1/2" apart on one side. Let's call this the first even side.
4. Pick up and rotate the whole thing 180 degrees or if you can walk around your table, go to the other side. My table is quite large so I have to pick it up and rotate it. Now stretch the canvas as tight as you can using your fingers and tack three more staples in, approx. 1/2" apart from each other. Let's call this the second even side.
I use a canvas stretcher and save my precious fingers for more delicate work, so you might want to invest in one of these tools as well. I think it was less than $20.00 and well worth the money.
5. Repeat the process on the other two sides. Note that when you tack the canvas on the first odd side, don't stretch it too tight. Stretch it tight on the second odd side, otherwise you will pull the canvas too far and not have enough to work with on the second odd side.
Now you need to go back to the first even side and tug the canvas to the left and right of the original staples, putting in one or two in each position, rotate the frame and do the same on the other even side. Rotate 90 degrees and stretch and tack on the first odd side, then the second odd side. You can see that before very long you have worked out to the corners and don't have very much left canvas left to stretch.
6. The last detail is to mitre the corners, just like you were making your bed (sure). Fold the corners and tack the excess in a uniform way so that when you are looking at the completed project there is a uniformity to its' construction. I like my work to look professional and strive to address the details such as corners. Your stretched canvas should be tight. If you ping it with your finger it should ring and have a good solid sound to it. If it is too tight, you can actually warp the wood frame. You will get a feel for how tight it should be after you do a few stretching projects
7. One thing I like to do and may be necessary for your work is to use the hammer and gently hammer in the staples that may be sticking up a bit. It sets them in place and there is less chance that the staples will work their way out as you apply pressure to painting surface.
8. Now you are ready to apply the gesso to the front and sides of the stretched canvas. Using your utility brush or roller begin to apply the first coat of gesso. Cover the entire surface and sides evenly. Raw canvas is very thirsty and will absorb most of the gesso in the first coat. I prop my canvases up on wood blocks to I can easily get around them and cover all the surfaces without getting them stuck on the paper I've laid out to protect my table top.
9. When the first coat of gesso is dry, lightly sand the surface all around and apply another coat. Two coats is good for me and the work I do. Some artists apply so many coats of gesso, the surface is as smooth as hot pressed watercolour paper. I like a lot of "tooth" so I might apply three coats on the odd occasion, but usually two is sufficient for me to paint on.
10. All that is left to do is clean up the brush, put your tools away and leave the wet canvas flat to dry. Let it dry for a few hours and you are ready to paint!
Notes: I find that stretching canvas and whole business of priming is quite laborious and not unpleasant work. I get exactly the sizes I want on the surface that I like. Therefore, I will produce as many as I can fit in my studio all in one day. I start early in the morning, stetch 6 or so, prime them and let them dry while I do something else, like sketches that will eventually become the paintings. Stretching your own canvas will give you a sense of complete control from beginning to end of your painting experience. Enjoy!