Preparing a Canvas: Sizing, Pulling, Stapling

Series Summary

Painting is the art of using a pigmented medium to create a picture of reality filtered through the imagination, the senses, emotions, and life experience. Artists the world over have multiplied the uses of painting as a vital mode of human expression, whether recording history, retelling myth and legend, expressing religious fervor, or exploring the unknown. From early history to the present, we have records of men and women making graphic representations of their world, showing their understanding and their curiosity. In this free video series, learn how to prepare a canvas for painting from a professional artist. She will show you how to finish stapling the sides of a canvas. You will see how to flick a canvas, remove excess fabric, attach nails and wire for hanging, use gesso, dry and finish preparing the canvas so that you can paint on it.

Video Transcript

"So we started stretching this canvas by putting the stretchers together, the wooden stretchers. They have these grooves here you see, that we push together. We could do it just with our hands. Sometimes you are going to need a hammer to get them if they are being stubborn. So there are four pieces to the stretcher. We got them all together until it made a pretty even square. And then we sized the canvas, the material, and cut the edges making sure we left enough canvas to be able to get a good pull. So then we had a prepared canvas and stretcher and we started stapling. We started on one side and then brought it around to the other side, tried to put them directly even. And then we did it again with this side and we did it directly even. And we proceeded to go around the canvas going from one side to the other so the staples were always right across from each other pulling really tight each time and in this manner we were able to get a nice, really tight canvas. That is what you want; a really tight, smooth canvas and we will continue it right now."