Why Artists Need to Stretch their Own Canvas??

Hi,

We all know that the art market expects a 'real' artist to stretch his/her own canvas.

I think this is a bit of a Crock.

Why not have artists make their own paints and brushes too? or make their own particle or masonite board?

Ok, there are certain things you can do if you do it on your own (tinting and such)...but the pre-stretched canvases i have bought were excellent (they were the staple-less kind, with a slot in the back for the rubber cord). And i could concentrate on painting the painting. It's not like it takes a genius to stretch and gesso a canvas!

Why not have someone in a factory do it?

And why not demand that the artist make their own gesso or weave their own canvas from hand?

Where the Fu** does it stop?

Slick

'Want to Feed an Artist's Ego? Look at my website:'
http://www.drslick.org/

Weaving your own canvas is for wimps - you should spin your own flax into linen first...flax only from your own garden only.

Flax Fertilized by the artist's sh** only!

Now that would be a REAL artist!

Slick

I have asked the same question here before, and got no response. Perhaps there is no answer. Meaning - there is no reason (other than vanity).

The art market expect no such thing.

Fact is, though, that commercially available stretched canvas is of inferior quality. Stretching your own gives you a better support to paint on - particularly the quality of the stretcher bars. Also, it is a LOT cheaper, especially if you buy unprimed canvas and prime it yourself.

Couple of other points

you get what you pay for - from crap to finest belgian linen. it all depends what you consider your art's worth...

doing it yourself will never beat a professionally made museum quality stretcher/canvas.

Indeed! And that from the seeds that you harvested from the high plains of Tajikistan and Mendelized for 120 generations to get the prefect fit.

Quite! 'Real' artists are like 'real' programers, who can write FORTRAN in any language.

It most certainly does in my neck of the woods. God Forbid that some of your work might be on the dreaded canvas board, which is admittedly a lousy place to paint. But the 'high-end' market suggests that you 'roll-your-own'.

The pre-stretched canvas i bought was very well done...staple-less type. The stretchers seemed fine.

If your stretcher bars are about $1.50 a pop, that would be $6 for 4 sides, which is already adding up. Unless you actually make your own stretcher bars, which seems like a pain to me.

These are both good points, i'll admit.

Slick

'Want to Feed an Artist's Ego? Look at my website:'
http://www.drslick.org/

i stretch my own canvas. i believe it is cheaper. yes, i do make my own stretcher bars. it is a job, i don't know if i'd call it a pain. some days you don't feel like painting, well you cut and glue and clamp some wood. good strtcher bars are very expensive so i found cutting them myself the only option. i don't prime it myself, so others surpass me there...

says...

I hate to bring this up because of the nitpicking ninnies who are currently in this forum - but here goes.

There is no reason a person can't use ordinary acrylic house paint in place of gesso. Acrylic is acrylic is 'rhoplex' is acrylic. In fact, a good quality house paint containing anti-mildew additives may even be superior to some gessos sold as artist primers without anti-mildew agents. In any event, I've used top of the line acrylic house paint in an **exterior grade** in my 'learning days' when I had no idea what I was doing technically. And I still have several of those early 'learning' paintings - the first ever is on my web site - and they are in as good condition over 30 years later as they were when newly completed. And yes, they were usually on canvas board back then, so even the cheesy canvas board is holding up well to this day.