Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required. Plain or tabby weave is the most basic of the three fundamental types of Textile weaves. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. A sail is any type of surface intended to generate Thrust by being placed in a Wind &mdashin essence a vertically-oriented Wing. A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope A backpack (also called It is also popularly used as a painting surface, typically stretched, and on fashion handbags and shoes.

Etymology

The word canvas is derived from the Latin word for cannabis -- hemp was popularly used to make canvas. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Cannabis ( Cán-na-bis) is a Genus of Flowering plants that includes three putative species Cannabis sativa subsp This article is about the cultivation and uses of industrial hemp not its psychoactive cousin Cannabis (drug.

The online etymology dictionary shows a more expanded etymology [1]:

1260, from Anglo-Fr. canevaz, from O. Fr. canevas, from V. L. *cannapaceus "made of hemp," from L. cannabis, from Gk. kannabis "hemp," a Scythian or Thracian word. PGT

Physical characteristics

Modern canvas is usually made of cotton. It differs from other heavy cotton fabrics, such as denim, in being plain weave rather than twill weave. Denim is a rugged Cotton Twill Textile, in which the Weft passes under two ( twi- "double" or more warp fibers Twill is a type of fabric woven with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs Canvas comes in two basic types: plain and duck. Cotton duck (from Dutch doek," Linen Canvas " also simply duck, sometimes duck cloth or duck canvas The threads in duck canvas are more tightly woven. In the USA, canvas is graded two ways: by weight (ounces per square yard) and by number. The numbers run in reverse of the weight; so, number 10 canvas is lighter than number 4.

Canvas for painting

Canvas has become the most common support medium for oil painting, replacing wooden panels. Oil painting is the process of painting with Pigments that are bound with a medium of Drying oil — especially in early modern Europe Linseed oil A panel painting is a Painting on a panel made of wood either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together One of the earliest surviving oils on canvas is a French Madonna with angels of about 1410 in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, which is very early indeed for oil painting also. The collection The Gemäldegalerie prides itself on its scientific methodology in collecting and displaying art However panel remained much more common until the 16th century in Italy and the 17th century in Northern Europe. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Mantegna and Venetian artists were among those leading the change; Venetian sail canvas was readily available and regarded as the best quality. Andrea Mantegna (c 1431 &ndash September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance artist a student of Roman Archeology, and son in law of

Canvas is usually stretched across a wooden frame called a stretcher, and may be coated with gesso before it is to be used; this is to prevent oil paint from coming into direct contact with the canvas fibers, which will eventually cause the canvas to decay. Light stretcher bars assembled disassembled 051907jpg|thumb|right|200px|A fully assembed stretcher bar corner " Gesso " is the Italian word for " Board chalk " (akin to the Greek word " Gypsum " and is a powdered form of the A traditional and flexible chalk gesso is composed of lead carbonate and linseed oil, applied over a rabbit skin glue ground; a variation using titanium white pigment and calcium carbonate is rather brittle and susceptible to cracking. (Of course lead-based paint is also poisonous so care has to be taken in using it. Lead paint is Paint containing Lead, a heavy metal, that is used as pigment with Lead(II chromate ( Pb[[Chromium Cr]] O4 ) Various alternative and more flexible canvas primers are commercially available, the most popular being a synthetic latex paint composed of titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate, bound with a thermo-plastic emulsion. Notwithstanding the concern for deterioration of materials, many modern artists, such as Jackson Pollock, Kenneth Noland, Francis Bacon, Helen Frankenthaler, Dan Christensen, Larry Zox, Ronnie Landfield, Color Field painters, Lyrical Abstractionists, and others sometimes paint onto the unprimed, or "raw canvas". Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28 1912 &ndash August 11 1956 was an influential American painter and a major force in the abstract expressionist movement Kenneth Noland (born April 10, 1924) is an American abstract painter. Francis Bacon' (28 October 1909 – 28 April 1992 was an Irish-born British figurative painter. Helen Frankenthaler (born December 12, 1928) is an American Post-painterly abstraction artist Dan Christensen the American Abstract painter, was born in Cozad Nebraska on October 6, 1942, he died in Easthampton Lawrence "Larry" Zox (b May 31 1937 - d December 16 2006) was an American painter and printmaker who is classified Ronnie Landfield (born January 9, 1947 in The Bronx, New York) is an American Abstract painter. In Quantum mechanics, color field is a whimsical name for some of the properties of Quarks Color Field painting is an abstract style that See also Tachisme, Art Informel, School of Paris, Lyrical Abstraction refers to two related but distinctly separate movements in Post-war

Early canvas was made of linen, a sturdy brownish fabric of considerable strength. Linen is a Textile made from the Fibers of the Flax plant Linum usitatissimum. Linen is particularly suitable for the use of oil paint. Linen is a Textile made from the Fibers of the Flax plant Linum usitatissimum. Oil paint is a type of slow-drying Paint consisting of small Pigment particles suspended in a Drying oil. In the early 20th century, cotton canvas, often referred to as "cotton duck", came into use. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp Linen is composed of higher quality material, and remains popular with many professional artists, especially those who work with oil paint. Oil paint is a type of slow-drying Paint consisting of small Pigment particles suspended in a Drying oil. Cotton duck, which stretches more fully and has an even, mechanical weave, offers a more economical alternative. The advent of acrylic paint has greatly increased the popularity and use of cotton duck canvas. Acrylic paint is fast-drying Paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer Emulsion. Linen and cotton derive from two entirely different plants, the flax plant and the cotton plant. Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp

One can also buy small, prepared canvases which are glued to a cardboard backing in the factory, called "canvas board". Paperboard is a Paper -like material usually over ten mils (0 However, these are only available in certain sizes, and are not acid-free, so their lifespan is extremely limited. In Computer science, ACID ( Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability) is a set of properties that guarantee that Database transactions are They are usually used for quick studies. In Art, a study is a Drawing, Sketch or Painting done in preparation for a finished piece or as Visual notes Gessoed canvases on stretchers are also available. These pre-stretched, pre-primed canvases are suitable for all but the most exacting professional standards. They are available in a variety of weights: light-weight is about 4 oz. or 5 oz. ; medium-weight is about 7 oz. or 8 oz. ; heavy-weight is about 10 oz. or 12 oz. They are prepared with two or three coats of gesso and are ready for use right out of the package. Artists desiring greater control of their painting surface often add a coat or two of their preferred gesso. Professional artists who wish to work on canvas may prepare their own canvas in the traditional manner.

One of the most outstanding differences between modern painting techniques and those of the Flemish and Dutch Masters is in the preparation of the canvas. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands "Modern" techniques take advantage of both the canvas texture as well as those of the paint itself. Texture in a painting is the feel of the canvas It can be based on the paint and its application or addition materials such as ribbon metal wood lace leather sand etc Paint is any Liquid, liquifiable or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque Solid A novice artist often finds it nearly impossible to approach the realism of such classic art, despite skill in applying the paint. In fact, Renaissance masters took extreme measures to ensure that none of the texture of the canvas came through. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere This required a painstaking, months-long process of layering the raw canvas with (usually) lead-white paint, then polishing the surface, and then repeating. The final product had little resemblance to fabric, but instead had a glossy, enamel-like finish. Though this may seem an extreme measure to the modern painter, it is crucial if photographic realism is the end goal. Photography (fә'tɒgrәfi or fә'tɑːgrәfi (from Greek φωτο and γραφία is the process and Art of recording pictures by means of capturing

With a properly prepared canvas, the painter will find that each subsequent layer of color glides on in a "buttery" manner, and that with the proper consistency of application (fat over lean technique), a painting entirely devoid of brushstrokes can be readily achieved. "Paintbrush" redirects here For other uses see Paintbrush (disambiguation.

To un-wrinkle the material, use a warm iron (not a hot iron) over a piece of wet cotton to flatten the wrinkles, although hot water on the back works just as well.

Canvas can also be printed on digitally to create canvas prints. A canvas print, also known as a stretched canvas or canvas art, is the result of an image printed onto Canvas which is stretched or gallery-wrapped After printing, the canvas can be wrapped around a stretcher and displayed. Light stretcher bars assembled disassembled 051907jpg|thumb|right|200px|A fully assembed stretcher bar corner

Splined canvas, stapled stretched canvas and canvas boards

Splined canvas

Splined canvases offer advantages that the traditional side-stapled canvas does not. The most obvious is that the edges of the stretched canvas are staple-free. This allows the painter to incorporate painted edges into the artwork itself. It also allows the artwork to be displayed without a frame. Splined canvas is easier to restretch. It's far easier to remove from the stretcher bars (just pull the spline out) and is easier to attach to another support since there is more fabric at the back to work with. Additionally, there are no unsightly staple holes to deal with.

Stapled canvases stay stretched tighter over a longer period of time, but are more difficult to re-stretch when the need arises.

Canvas boards are made of cardboard with canvas stretched over and sealed on the backside. The canvas is typically linen primed for a certain type of paint.

Non-traditional uses for stretched canvas

It has become popular to use the myriad of stretched canvas's sizes and shapes for unconventional creative expression. Artists create miniature works on business card sized stretched canvas and use them as trading cards to make connections with other artists. Many artists use canvas for altered art pieces as well as for scrapbook pages—because stretched canvas is available in many sizes, from miniatures to wall size, it is used for decoupage and needlework projects, made into lamps, or painted simply for home decor. Decoupage (or découpage) is the Art of decorating an object by gluing colored Paper cutouts onto it in combination with special

See also

• Canvas print