There are a variety of kinds of canvas artists could utilize! The basic idea remains the same but with some slight differences.
Canvas boards
Canvas boards are lightweight wooden boards with a thinner canvas wrapping around their front as well as the edges. They are ideal for painting Plein air sets. You can also take measurements of your plein airbox to determine what size canvas board will work the best for your needs.
Unstretched/loose canvas
Loose canvas is just canvas, without the frame. It’s extremely easy to ship since it is able to be folded into a tube and saves the cost of shipping and time for boxing. This is a good option if are shipping to an art gallery, however, generally, you would like your artwork to be stretched before you ship the artwork to collectors.
Gallery-wrapped
Gallery-wrapped canvas is the most commonly used canvas that you’ll see that is wrapped around the frame with a minimum 1.38″ edge. There are even thicker-edged canvases available.
The canvases with thinner edges are exactly the same, with a quarter-inch edge.
Linen
Linen is another canvas material. Linen canvases are timeless, and they have a smooth surface. They are also very durable “stitch” is much smaller and more compact than cotton canvas. Linen canvas is great for oil painting canvases. It is ideal for portraits and realism since the texture of the canvas is virtually unnoticed.
Selecting your canvas
We’ve discussed a variety of kinds of canvas and surfaces that you can apply paint to, the main question that you must think about when buying a canvas is What is its purpose of it? If you’re looking for a canvas that you can explore, be exuberant and wild, and put it away in the closet to be used later then you’re likely not to have to shell out more than $60 on canvas. But, if you’re planning to spend time and make a stunning painting that you intend to sell to an art collector, you’ll need to invest a lot of money for a premium canvas.
If you’re looking to try something new It’s perfectly acceptable to shell out $1-3 for the canvas of a student or those kinds of canvases that you can purchase in a large quantity from the craft stores in your area. Any size is fine and you’ll have a lot of enjoyment here. Canvas boards are an excellent option and are simple to store. It isn’t necessary to spend a lot of time to locate an art supplies retailer that stocks the professional artist-grade canvas, which means you’ll also be able to save time. In terms of the type of paints to paint on canvas, you can use anything. It’s also a matter of personal preference however any canvas can be used as a canvas with acrylic paints and oil! For fun, experimenting or just for fun, there are choices and freedom to play!
This isn’t saying that you cannot sell your work on canvas. If you plan to exhibit your work through a gallery it is best to start early and get your work on a canvas of the highest quality. Making the effort to purchase a professional-grade canvas for your work shows commitment and will surely be worth it in the end. Your artwork will always look better with thicker gallery-wrapped edges, raising it one or two levels.