Using an oil ground on linen means that you'll have better paint adhesion, the first layers of paint are absorbed into the ground. The use of glazes means the underpainting will glow from the inside out. Thicker applications of paint on an oil ground underpainting means you can scrape back to the stained ground color.
You can paint oil on an acrylic ground, but the paint will just sit on the surface, not bond with the ground. An acrylic ground is best for acrylic paints, it create a chemically compatible bond. You cannot use acrylic paints with an oil ground ever. It won't adhere.
The universal ground offered on many of our linens and on both polyester fabrics is a compromise. It has two coats of sizing glue that protects the fabric, then is coated with acrylic gesso. Both acrylic and oil painters are choosing to use these fabrics.
Fine Linen Fabrics for your art supports
"Through history French painters had traditionally painted on strong and durable fabrics—hemp and linen, and the transition from hemp to linen painting canvases had occurred smoothly; and artists were aware that cotton fabrics were not as well adapted as hemp and linen ones to use as supports for paintings. Cotton is weaker than the two other fibers and much weaker when wet; it will also not resist bacterial growth as well. Only in the late 1800s did painters begin to paint on cotton canvases, because linen fabrics had by then become much more expensive. Even today, artists who are concerned with the durability of their works still favor linen over cotton when it is available and affordable." - A Study of French Painting Canvases by K. V. Carbonnel.
Beware of big, heavy linen fabrics that look impressive and feel substantial. Just like the finest bedsheets, you want more threads per inch, so you need linen made from threads that are consistently thin. Some manufacturers sell oil primed linen where the gauge of the thread is thinner in one direction than the other - that means that the only way you can prevent ripple in the fabric is to stretch tighter in one direction than the other - and that's very difficult to do! That's why we avoid offering such products.
Here at John Annesley Company we carry a wide range of linens. From the L60 linen that has only a rabbit skin glue coating, to the L64C linen with four coats of oil ground on a very delicate but durable linen. It has the luscious feel of calf-skin glove leather.
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L21C - front
French Linen Fabric
Oil Ground
84" wide
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L21C - back
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L64U - front
French Linen Fabric
Universal Primed - 4 coats
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L64U - back
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L64C - front
French Linen Fabric
Oil Ground - 4 coats
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L64C - back
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Claessens #15 - front
Belgian Linen
Oil Primed
84" wide
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Claessens #15 - back
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L60 - front
Belgian Linen Fabric
Rabbit Skin Glue Sizing only
84" wide
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L60 - back
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Unprimed Linen - front
Belgian Linen Fabric
Unprimed
78" wide
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Unprimed Linen - back
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Polyester fabric for your art supports
More people are discovering the strength and durability of using a polyester fabric, and we find the prices are going up. This material is the modern solution to creating a totally chemically compatibile environment. Polyester has an almost flawless surface that's very popular with oil painters looking for a real fine surface. Polyester isn't affected by moisture at all, and heat or cold causes it to expand and contract much less than linen or cotton. Because this polyester fabric moves the least, it is the most stable fabric to paint on that's available.
Art conservators are now using polyester for re-lining paintings. They can glue an old, delicate canvas onto to a pre-stretched piece of polyester and they don't have to worry about buckling or crinkling the paint. The polyester fabric creates a moisture proof buffer between the stretchers and the wall that will last forever.
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P72U - front
French Polyester Fabric
Universal Primed - 2 coats
Double Sized |
P72U - back
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P154U - front
French Polyester Fabric
Universal Primed - 4 coats
Double Sized - 84" wide
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P154U - back
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Cotton Canvas - Select, Duck or Fill
Most cotton canvas from John Annesley Company is professional-grade, heavy weight 12 oz. The canvas from retail outlets is usually 7 oz. or sometimes 10 oz. Even with multiple coats of gesso, it's not good enough. Although cotton doesn't expand and contract as much as linen, it's softer than linen and won't last as long. The length of the finest cotton fiber, the "staple length" is 3 inches compared to the 6 to 10 inch length of linen. Cotton fibers are easily pulled apart by a child, but it takes a strong man to tear a linen fiber. Under a microscope cotton looks like twisted ribbon; the stronger, thinner linen thread looks like bamboo. When duck is manufactured, the threads are wrapped around each other and each weave is knotted, so the material doesn't slip and slide. Cotton canvas is widely used because it costs less and it expands and contracts less. But conservators tell us it won't last as long as art work on linen.
In the past we only used the fine weave, unprimed duck select cotton, which is much finer than cotton duck or fill. Now select weave is only available in 60 inch rolls, so we've added a range of styles to meet artist's needs. For instance, our Portrait 52 has been hand-pumiced and was originally developed for graphic illustrators. We also added a less expensive, canvas fill - A60, it's the kind of material they use to make blue jeans.
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D Primed - front
Cotton Duck
Acrylic Double Primed
60" - 72" - 84" wide
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D Primed - back
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Portrait 52 - front
Cotton
Acrylic Double Primed
52" wide
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Portrait 52 - back
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D84 - front
Unprimed Cotton Duck
12 oz.
60" - 72" - 84" wide
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D84 - back
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Unprimed Duck Select - front
Cotton Duck
12 oz. - 60" wide
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Unprimed Duck Select - back
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A60 - front
Cotton Canvas Fill
8 oz.
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A60 - back
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