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Stretcher Bars


Canvas Stretcher bars, Stretcher Strips and more

{Please note: These are sold as pieces of one, not as sets of 2, unless clearly indicated that they are sets of 6.}

Richeson-BEST Stretcher Bars: Heavy Duty - Medium Duty - Lightweight (with Free Corner Keys!) / Cross Braces / Canvas Rolls / BEST Corner Key Kit / BEST Rapid Canvas Stretching Stapler and More



Squaring Your Canvas

Stretching your own canvases is tricky at first, but rewarding because it gives you more control over the size and shape of your paintings. One, sometimes overlooked step in the process is to make sure your canvas is squared. You can check the squareness of your frame by measuring across the diagonal corners to see that both measurements are equal. The larger your canvas, the more critical this step becomes, especially when you are adding bracing.

Canvas Stretcher Bars

Canvas tips: Stretching your own canvas not only saves money but also allows you to experiment on different surface tightness. Canvas stretcher bars are simple to use pieces of wood that are usually sold in pairs. By buying two different lengths, you can make a rectangular canvas rather than a square one. Using the stretcher bars to build a frame for your canvas allows you to cut the size and dimensions of your paint surface then pre-stretched canvas sold commercially.

Stretch Canvas

Artists use pieces of canvas to sketch ideas for paintings. Many artists sketch on canvas before they begin painting a single stroke.

Stretching Your Own Canvas

Artists who paint a lot and like to stretch their own canvas will often stretch very large pieces of raw linen on heavy frames for sizing and priming. Once the linen is dry, it is removed from the frame and cut into desired painting sizes and re-stretched. Even though this is a time consuming process, by re-stretching, the artist ensures that if the linen tightens or sags with priming, it can be corrected when transferred to its permanent frame.