If you are one of the artist who wants to save your money and do up a customized stretched canvas? At times you need to become money-minded while purchasing the art supplies. The ideal way to save your money and even make good quality canvas is by making it by you and later stretches it in a stretcher. This is helpful for an art student or a starving artist. Better and cheaper are the reasons to do up your own canvas.
The equipments needed are:
Power miter saw or a manual saw
Corrugated nails
Corner clamps
Wood glue
Hammer
Canvas pliers
Small 1 inch finished nails
Canvas which is unprimed
Light duty stapling gun
Gesso
Start with making a sketch with dimensions of the canvas, and then calculate how much of the wood you will want for your project. Go and have a look at the lumber stores. Pick up the 1″x2″ lumber of which the stretcher is going to be made of. Be sure to take good quality pieces which are straight of the white pine wood. Add some pieces of the ¼ inch quarter molding which are round in shape. Stick the ¼ inch molding to the topmost outer edge of 2″x1′ piece of wood and so the flat side is stuck to the 2 inch side. Then nail the quarterered round with 1 inch finished nails. Cut the rounded 1″x2″ with the miltre saw taking the proper lengths and cutting will be at the angle of 45-degree. Cut the four equal pieces of 1″x2″ in 6″to 12″ longer or depending on size of that canvas for all four corners. Cut one piece for the center brace of the canvas at an angle of 90 degree. Put all the pieces together, use corner clamps which will hold the corners at an angle of 90 degree and also stick and nail the edge of the corners all together with the help of corrugated nails
Now that your frame is ready you can stretch your canvas over the stretcher frame. Keep the canvas over the floor so that it should be 4″ bigger to wrap it from all the sides. After stretching the canvas tighten it and wet the canvas with boiling water. This process will tighten the canvas as it will shrink in water. Dry the canvas and put the coating of acrylic gesso.











