Stretching canvas-with heavy painted area.

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spike1098

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Jan 25, 2008
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artworldwi@yahoo.com Greetings and happy new year!
I can't believe I have just stumbled upon this site after all these years. This is my first contact , so please cut me some slack as needed. THX. My problem is a large ( 24X36 ) original oil painting that has very heavy ( thick ) paint applied to the bottom thrid. We stretched the above, and are not happy with it. Can"t get the canvas tight enough. We have tried misting and blow drying , but little help. Are there any tricks or suggestions out there ?
THX Spike
 
Hi Spike and welcome to the Grumble. You will find this to be a very helpful group, especially if you tell us a bit more about yourself and the project you are working on.

How old is the painting. Are you sure it is oil? What is it painted on (Canvas? Linen? How heavy? Gesso ground or unsized? And the condition?)

What kind of stretcher bars (size?) Keyable? Cross support across the 36" dimension? Has the painting been stretched before?

How are you pre-tensioning the canvas before stapling? What type of staples are you using? Pattern? Spacing?

How heavy is the canvas? Sometime an artist will put so much paint on the surface in one area that it is difficult to get the canvas to pull tight under all that paint. Are you using an adjustable stretcher bar of the proper dimension or are you man handling the canvas onto a strainer/stretcher with pliers?

Misting and blow drying is a BAD idea. You can actually loosen the ground and pull the canvas out from under the paint. You can also cause stress fractures that will not manifest themselves for some time to come. Later on the paint will have tiny fissures or the entire surface will start cracking as the paint separates from the backing.
 
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