The Versatility and Novelty of Canvas: Artberry Gallery

When one thinks of canvas and considers its important role in art, it’s all too easy to forget about the countless historical uses of the ultra-strong fabric. To the touch, canvas is most often thick and plain, woven carefully for the purposes of strength and durability, and is then stretched taut over a wooden frame (appropriately named a “stretcher”). Its receptiveness to different forms of paint made it the immediate standard of artists around the world centuries ago, even before Renaissance-era portraits and some of art’s greatest achievements were immortalized on canvas. Beyond photographic reproduction and customized canvas printing, however, canvas fabric has proved quite useful in canoe building, trampoline covers, camping equipment, and even military applications that require the most durable fabric for protection.

Linen was initially the only style of canvas available to painters and artisans but if not properly maintained the color of this already brown fabric would deteriorate—sometimes unevenly, which would create a blotchy or decaying image. These issues were remedied by continuous modification and were ultimately fixed by time, experimentation, and the standardized production practices of later generations. Beyond linen, other forms of canvas grew in popularity mostly due to the artist’s desire for the perfect expressive format for paintings and portraits.

Roughly one hundred years ago, cotton canvas became the newest tool in the artist’s arsenal; particularly popular with artists lacking the money for linen, “cotton duck” became the standard for mass production and heralded for its responsiveness to oil and layered painting techniques. More often mass-produced than linen, mechanical weaving machines have boosted the consistency of “cotton duck” considerably and cheaper production costs have made it a favorite for image reproduction, custom printing, and color conversions (e.g. sepia [old-fashioned photographic] reproduction, photo-to-oil reproductions, etc.).

The centuries-old but ongoing popularity of canvas is something to behold. Never before it were individuals capable of preserving art or images with such success. Even today, select artists use it instead of more high-tech or digital solutions because of its particular ease of use and fantastic color results. Canvas might always be the preference for artists and art lovers, so long as they value that combination of durability and beauty only found in canvas originals and custom prints.

Interested in the possibilities of custom canvas solutions for preserving your precious memories and reproducing personal photographs? Contact Barbara at Artberry Gallery today by phone, 1-877-217-9073 [toll free], or by e-mail at our website: http://artberrygallery.com.

Artist’s note: Linen and cotton canvas are the product of two very different plans. Linen is extracted and produced from the flax plant, while cotton canvas is—not surprisingly—derived from the common cotton plant.