Choosing the wrong canvas can cause significant drawbacks to your paintings. Several varieties of canvases are available which differ in fabrics, texture, material, shape, size, prime coat etc. Choosing the appropriate canvas is important to convey your artistic vision in its true format. Rather than just a plain surface for your paintings, canvases can impact the depth, intensity and dimension of your artwork. While choosing the canvas, the artist must ensure it aligns with your artistic requirements to portray your vision in its right dimension and shape.


The quality of your canvas determines the durability of the painting and it plays an important role in maintaining the stiffness and the shape of the artwork. On the other side, if you compromise the quality, it is more vulnerable to the wear and tear of time, temperature and more. For example, low-quality canvases lose their stiffness when exposed to sunlight as well as hot atmospheres. The material of the canvas should be preferred with the type of your portrayals, concerning the style of the painting as well.


In this blog, we are going to unveil the basic factors that help you to choose your canvas according to your preferences.


Cotton canvas


Cotton canvases are an incredible option for artworks due to their affordability and absorbency. Cotton canvases are widely used for various types of artworks as they excel in versatility as well as even distribution of pigments. Due to their stiffness, they are very easy to be hung on walls. Apart from their wide availability, cotton canvases offer rigidity and stiffness so that you can easily frame them without ever worrying about them getting distorted over time. Available in various textures, from smooth to hard surfaces, cotton canvases can be selected accordingly. Cotton canvases are a versatile option due to their friendly nature with the majority of mediums including acrylic, oil paints, watercolour, poster colors etc.



Linen Canvas


Lines canvas offers an excellent smooth surface, making them a premium option for realistic or detailed works. Notably, the majority of the renowned artworks are done on linen material. With their amazing durability and flexibility, they are widely used by both beginners and professionals alike. Linen canvas with finely woven linen materials is appreciated for its smooth texture and rigidity. They offer greater stiffness compared to cotton canvas ensuring the proper shape to your works. Even though they are highly recommended for oil paints, the linen surface can endure heavy application of other paints like acrylic, emulsion paints and more.


Synthetic Canvas


As the name suggests, they are made from synthetic materials like polyester or poly-cotton blends. These synthetic materials offer exceptional durability when compared to linen and cotton canvas types. Also, they are not prone to the wear and tear of time, humidity, temperature changes etc. Since they are less susceptible to moisture, temperature and humidity, they have minimal stretching and sagging, which makes them a suitable preference for those who are looking for durability and consistency.



Stretched canvas:


Stretched canvases are readily accessible canvases as they come pre-framed. They offer rigidity and convenience for the artists as they are ready-made for numerous art initiatives. Stretched canvases are usually pre-primed, making them suitable for immediate use so that the artist doesn't have to worry about applying the prime. There is no need to stretch or coat the prime since they are framed and made rigid with the wooden frame.



Canvas prime coat


Most of the canvas comes pre-primed to ensure a neat and smooth surface for painting, drawing and other illustrative art. Some canvases come without the prime coat, letting the artist choose the coating. There are two variants of prime coats, acrylic prime and oil prime. If your medium is acrylic, acrylic prime is suitable for expressive artwork, providing smoothness and the right amount of absorbency.  Oil-coated primes are the best solution for your artistic initiatives with oil paints as the medium. They provide a clean surface that prolongs the drying of oil paint. 




Canvas size


The shape and size of the canvas should be chosen according to the dimension of your artwork as well as its length-to-height ratio. For example, if you are proceeding with a portrait, the rectangular canvas with the appropriate aspect ratio should be selected. The width and height of canvases should be matched with the ratio of your artwork to avoid any deformities in the overall shape and unwanted spaces. You can use canvas rolls to cut out your desired shape accordingly. With the canvas rolls, you can easily make circular, rectangular or square-shaped canvas according to your preferences.