Least Expensive Way to Buy Canvas

OK, I've taken a big, potentially fatal step. I'm quitting my job so I can have more freedom to paint. I fully expect to have to be very careful about money for the first time in years. I'm going to buy, up front, extra supplies, and although I don't want 'bad, cheap' supplies, I do want to be as economical as possible.

I will be practicing, a lot, but don't want to use materials that would rule out a quality product. What is the least expensive brand/method for canvases. Is it cheaper to stretch your own? Is there a brand of good quality, pre-stretched canvases that would suffice?

I usually paint on canvases 24 X 24 and larger. (Don't like small portraits). So far I have used Fredrix pre-stretched, pre-primed canvases. A store in town has a buy one, get a second one for a dollar sale twice a year. I bought about 10 large canvases for around $400. I tend to start about five portraits at a time , and take a while to finish, where if I am able to paint more, I will, obviously, produce more. i.e. I will use up canvases very fast.

Any info/advice is much appreciated.

DeVon

[Rochelle Brown]

Well I come from a family of artists that "failed" for one reason or another.

I also know a few musicians. There is an expression that goes "don't quit your day job". To be a good, successful artist you almost have to have the support of your family. Or a way of making money that allows you to have flexible hours.

I've seen some sad crash landings and every once in a while get the tragic story of some poor fool who went to New York (where I'm from) thinking they could make it and ended up starving or worse.

Sorry to be so morbid. It takes a lot of planning.

I wish you the best of success.

I guess I should have mentioned, I am not planning on art paying my way. I realize I would have to be extremely lucky and extremely talented before I could make a living with my art.

I'm quitting my high-paying management job to find a much lower paying position that will allow me more free time.

And I didn't quit the corporate world solely for art... I would quit it anyway. I'm so tired of all the BS. If I don't get away now, I will die of a heart attack sitting at my desk without ever having the opportunity to try something else.

Plus, I do have amazing support from my family, they have more faith in me than I have in myself. And although I haven't asked them, I know they would help financially if necessary.

Devon

[Stanka Kordic]

Devon,

It takes a lot of work, courage, tons of study, business sense, work, and absolute conviction that art is what you want to do. Oh, and did I mention work? (Of course, you probably know all this..) I believe part of what makes artists special is this willingness to do what it takes, and the creativity to find a way even when the road is full of potholes. You can do it, roll up your sleeves and believe in yourself first.

Oh, look through the catalogs for canvas, etc. and compare prices. I am usually too impatient and strapped for time anymore to stretch my own. I have had success with Pintura brand Linen canvases from Jerry's, or ASW catalogs.

Best of luck to you Devon.

Interesting thought... I never looked at it that way. It makes sense that the sacrifices we make for art is part of the process. I guess we all know of people who have failed after a lot of effort and some people who seem to have been given the gift of success without the sacrifice, but I would guess most people have worked hard and long and made a lot of sacrifices in order to make a living with their art.

As you stated, hard work, business sense, talent, hard work, etc., I am either really stupid or really brave or a little of both, but I have to give it a try. It is now or never. My family and friends have encouraged me so much, I don't think my talent is totally delusional. But I do know it will wither and die if I keep working in the corp world. I don

[Karin Wells]

Good for you Devon! Quitting the corporate life of a "Dilbert Drone" will be good for your soul and make you into a happier woman. You've got plenty of "moxie" and I admire that!

Here's my motto...YOU CAN'T FAIL IF YOU DON'T QUIT!

That said, let's move on to the subject of cheap canvas. If you happen to see a stack of sale canvasses somewhere...don't snap them up (like I once did) until you check them out. If you hold a canvas up to the light, and you see pinholes, don't buy it. It will take MANY layers of gesso to fill those holes before you can put paint on the surface.

I visited Pearl paint once and found a roll of cotton canvas that was inexpensive and the surface was wonderful. I could not have found this in a catalog. My advice here is to look around...

Also, I once sent for a roll of expensive linen from Utrecht and it was damaged...a "pulled thread" ran down the center length of it. They would not take it back - darn them - and I haven't ordered anything from them since. You might want to check the "returns policy" before ordering from a catalog.

Thank you for the encouragement. I would be more than a little hesitant if I didn't have people like you all around to help me out.

Oh, I am not a man...all woman. I always get that with my name. I almost got of paying my AEX bill once because of it; they wanted to talk to the 'man' who had the account, after several phones calls and lot of frustration, I told them, 'Fine,I'll let the man pay the bill.' Then they decided to talk to me!

This has been a hard decision, I've made over $100,000 a year for years. It is difficult to realize I won't be able to go to a store and spend a $1000 on art supplies just because I feel like it. The good news is that since I always go into things full-tilt. I have lots of paints and brushes. But, I'm such a beginner...I noticed if I find a technique that I really like, if I can't use it again on another painting within a week or so, I lose it. And due to current work constraints, I take three steps forward and two back.

I have a web site, if I were brave enough I'd ask for some critiques, but I'd like to have my technique and style down better first. I don't want to paint one or two good portraits, then hit a dry spell because I am not yet experienced enough. One thing I must do is practice drawing. I spend hours, days, drawing the same portrait over and over again. After about fourteen tries I get something that is pretty good, then the fifteenth is not as good as the fourteenth.

I'm presuming with time to practice, I can get it down to where I only need one time. And, although the fourteenth is good, it isn't great. I kinda paint around my drawings...make them better while painting them, but sometimes I can't fix it. Like my "Belly Dancer". The right eye is not correct. Oh, that reminds me of a question. I'm using oils, W&N, Mussini, Gamblin and when I make a mistake on the painting, or decide to go a different direction (as with Nature Goddess where I tried to remove a bracelet on the arm), I have not found a way to stop the other part from coming through. OK, I guess I can't tell you about the paintings without having you look at them.

Here is the link: DeVon's Paintings. Remember, I only started painting in Sept last year, and the Nature Goddess is the 7th portrait I have done, all the others are after it.

DeVon

[Karin Wells]

Ooops...sorry about the gender mix-up...I went back and fixed that in my original post.

To avoid repeating myself here, some of my favorite "beginner" suggestions are in the following threads:

About copying the old masters:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=261

William Whitaker Links:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=283

Painting from photos:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=237

Learn fast by tracing:
http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...hlight=Tracing

I urge you to sit down and read through the material on this forum...for starters you can really learn a lot here.

I would also hope that you can find a qualified painting teacher somewhere near you. Good instruction is money well spent.

Thank you for the wonderful links! I read some of them, but bookmarked them later to go back to as it is a lot to absorb. And thank you for the idea of painting an 'Old Masters'. I bought a book on this technique several months ago. I am starting a portrait of a young lady in the next few weeks; I'm going to try one of the techniques on her portrait.

After looking at all the different types of art I could do, I decided on portraiture because it is the most challenging and I believe the most rewarding. You portrait artists are amazing! You have to be able paint sky, water, plants, vases, material, trees, chairs, buildings, tiles, carpet, beautiful muted backgrounds, animals, etc.. all better than any landscape artist, wildlife artist or realist, AND you have to be able to take the most complex living things on the planet and paint them with their myriad personalities and character traits AND you have to make eyes look like eyes and ears look like ears and flesh not only look like flesh, but look alive. Not to mention the innate ability to glean your client