Linen canvas versus cotton canvas for oil painting
Canvas for oil paints comes in three different fabrics: linen duck, cotton duck and cotton+synthethic blend duck canvas. All are generally primed with a whiteacrylic gesso which is fine for oil paints since it follows the rule of “fat over lean” –acrylic gesso is lean. (More on this in another post).
If you want to create gallery quality work, linen canvas, per the traditionalists, is the way to go. The most superior quality linen canvas comes out of Belgium where it has been cultivated specifically for the art market. Linen duck canvas is made from the flax plant which has been woven into fabric. These fibers are long in nature and tend to have a stronger tensile strength to them than the shorter cotton fibers. Linen can be twisted into a fine, tight strand and woven into a canvas duck that is extremely durable and fine textured. The finer the linen, the finer the texture of linen canvas and the more expensive. However, linen, with its natural slubs is often sought after for its texture in a painting and a rough fabric texture is often a desirable trait in a canvas.
Linen canvas is somewhat difficult to stretch because it doesn’t yield to the stretcher bars the way canvas does. Nature imbued this fiber with some interesting characteristics: it is more resilient to moisture because of inherent oils –yet primes easily; handles contractions due to hot and cold atmosphere changes; and is resistant to various types of decay. The stiffness of the fabric is what makes it desirable as a painting support and its durability –or longevity over the years excites art collectors.
Linen canvases are often hand oiled or painted with a lead based oil paint as a primer to create a super smooth finish for Realism-style portrait work. This alone can raise the price.
Cotton duck canvas, on the other hand, is made from cotton fibers which are shorter than linen and come from, surprise! the cotton plant. Cotton can be woven to any degree of fineness, but it will always be less expensive than linen due to its availability, ease of growing, harvesting and manufacturing. Also, cotton reaches its limit when it comes to larger paintings: it can’t support the weight of itself and the paint combined. This is where the competition shines. Cotton canvas can be made be just as durable as linen and go the distance, so don’t feel bad if the price of linen makes it a bit more cost prohibitive. Cotton is just fine for all your painting needs until you reach canvas sizes exceeding 6′ in either direction. Heavy cotton duck canvas can be fine for larger size canvases, but consult with the experts to make sure that it won’t fail you on the first day of your art show!
Comments
Leave a Reply
