It supports the gesso, the paint, the oil or acrylic mediums, and finally an optional varnish. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Keep practicing until you’ve mastered the use of canvas pliers. Just stretch it tightly, the way you stretch an already primed canvas. If you want, you can staple near the corners and then place a staple between the center and the corner instead. What about a varnished painted canvas? If this happens, when you’re painting you run the danger of rubbing your brush against the bars through the canvas and producing an accidental rubbing in paint. That’s why the use of canvas pliers is the best chance of providing a taut surface. © 2021 Ideaform Inc., All Rights In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. The canvas pictured above is 3/4 inch depth and has a small canvas lip to stretch the canvas across on the front side. All of these canvas stretching supplies will help you customize your canvas stretcher frames for a wide assortment of art projects. Once you’ve decided which side is the going to be bulky, pull the fabric on that corner towards you. Pull the loose outer fabric up and over the stretcher bar’s edge. A tight canvas is a strong canvas. And you can measure from corner to corner to ensure the distance is equal. You always want to secure the canvas from the middle to the corners. Although this can be done alone, a second pair of hands might make this step a little easier. Canvas above 36 x 48 inch inches should have thicker depth to prevent warping. Also, be diligent to clean off any stray paint that gets on the tape as you’re painting. Can canvases made for acrylic or oil paint can be used for watercolor? There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Next take the canvas pliers, stretch the canvas on the opposite side and staple in the center. So stretcher bars, again, have these corners and the corners go together rather easily, like so. The brand of stretcher bar is Fredrix, a well-known professional company. You could damage the work. This article has been viewed 532,882 times. Painting the primer on in the same direction allows the canvas to look fairly clean and simple, a great backdrop for your painting. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. *, *Place the canvas in the center of the cut fabric. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/47\/Stretch-a-Canvas-Step-1-Version-6.jpg\/v4-460px-Stretch-a-Canvas-Step-1-Version-6.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/47\/Stretch-a-Canvas-Step-1-Version-6.jpg\/aid10908-v4-728px-Stretch-a-Canvas-Step-1-Version-6.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":306,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":485,"licensing":"