Canvas

The ground beneath everything

Canvas is where a painting begins — linen or cotton, stretched over a frame and primed until it's ready to take a mark.

What we use

linen     Belgian, tight and even
cotton    studio-grade, for practice
sizing    rabbit-skin or PVA
prime     three coats of gesso

Why it matters

A bad ground ruins a good painting. We stretch our own, because the first layer is the only one you can't paint over.