Types of Artists Canvas: Stretched Canvas, Canvas Boards & Canvas Rolls

Painting on art canvas, gives even casual or amateur artists the professional feel. The woven surface offers the freedom to paint with both thick and thin strokes, with oil or acrylic paint. Various types of artist’s canvas are available. Stretched canvas, canvas boards and canvas rolls are all available according to your budget.

Stretched Canvas
Stretched canvas is the professional and high-end version of artists canvas and is the most expensive and convenient of the three options. Stretched canvases are mounted on stretcher bars which typically provide a 19mm or 38mm canvas covered edge which can be painted, this is beneficial as a painting on a stretched canvas can displayed on a wall with or without being framed. Stretched canvas varieties are available in many shapes and sizes depending on the kind of painting you wish to create. Some of the popular kinds include the cotton canvas varieties of the traditional profile and the deep profile, and the decorative and miniature canvas. Polyflax and primed linen are some of the other materials used in stretched canvas. It’s important to note that colors have different effects on different textures.

Canvas Boards

Canvas boards or panels are cheap versions of the stretched type of artist’s canvas. They are generally made of heavy duty card panels to which the canvas surface is glued. The pulp board is a still cheaper alternative, featuring either a gesso textured surface or an embossed pattern. You can paint with oil as well as acrylic paints on these canvas boards. Pre-stretched canvas panels are usually covered in a cotton duck canvas surface. Due to canvas boards being only a few millimeters thick, all paintings painted on canvas boards require being framed - adding an extra cost - if they are going to be displayed on a wall.

Canvas Rolls
Canvas generally comes in rolls of 5 & 10m in length and 1 to 1.6m wide. Such canvas can be comprised of primed or un-primed cotton, Polyflax or linen. A sheet of canvas can be cut to size from the roll and once the painting is finished it can be mounted on stretcher bars. This can often work out to be the cheapest option; however, it is often considered to be less convenient, more time-consuming and requiring the relevant skills and tools are necessary to construct the final product.

Painting on canvas is an important phase in the growth of the artist. These three different options of artist’s canvas are available in terms of stretched canvas, canvas boards and canvas rolls; each type has different advantages and disadvantages for the artist to consider.