Stretcher bars / Canvas

A canvas is a fabric made of linen stretched over a stretcher bar or in a support frame. It serves as a basis for many painting techniques.

The advantages of canvasses over other picture bases, such as wood and metal, are the low costs, the light weight and the flexibility (can be rolled together during transit). Disadvantages are lower stability and the risk that the painted layer may break.

There is a certain skill in the tightening of canvas, so you need to practise. You need to stretch the material onto a wooden frame. In so doing, you should always stretch diagonally (cross-over); in other words, start at the top-left corner, then do the bottom right, and so on.

There is now a large number of shops selling really good-value stretcher bars with the canvasses already on.
edding markers are idea for designing and drawing both on unpainted and pre-painted canvasses for additional effects.