My secret comments about stretching linen canvas for oil paintings…
Rex Art Florida…Buy the wood stretcher bars…Buy linen not cotton canvas…Hand mallet wood together…Stretch using black carpet tacks hammered into back of stretcher not sides…Reinforce using copper tacks at sides…reinforce & adjust tension by using metal spring canvas tighteners also sold by Rex…That is the best…or buy premade from a professional stretcher in your local area & miss all the fun…(make sure wood is sustainable to save trees)…
There is a great oil prime & size gesso(it’s an all in one) that comes in a can from Australia…(ArtSpectrum oil prime)…
belgian 10 weight linen…get a metal grabber tool instead of hurting your hands…do it yourself is way more fun than buying…at least the first time…
I used the new Best adjustable metal canvas tighteners to tighten the linen at the very end…They are these things you screw in on an angle into each corner & can be screw tightened once in…The lighter weight 10 linen is a little easier to deal with than the nubbier stuff…But I HEAR you on sag! What a nightmare! But I survived…I was shy to recommend the gesso I really prefer because the Smithsonian has not(not that I have heard yet) accepted non-traditional gessoes for oil paintings yet-they say they delaminate…But I secretly prefer clear gesso because I like the transparency & my yellows are truer…(Liquitex makes a surprisingly robust clear one)…Yes, I ordered a 2 & a 1/4″ stretcher bar set from Rex in Florida to avoid warpage, & though it was heavy, it was true…I just love tongue & groove stretcher bars…
http://www.rexart.com/product1938.html
Randall Stoltzfus sloweye.net taught me that with linen, you hammer in temporary nails, let it rest for days or a week, then remove nails, & re-stretch tighter…The rest period gives the linen time to expand…(Randall was raised Amish so he gets things)…This rest philosophy works with running…You run, then walk, then run, then walk…Randall’s work is shimmering, if anyone goes to look for his original
How to stretch linen directions…