Drawing America Materials Group
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Cracked Canvas Question
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Cracked Canvas Question
Dear Drawing America
May I ask you for advice about materials? I just got one of my paintings back from an exhibitor and it has a strange crack down the middle that goes under the wood frame. I found only one art restorer in the city, (name removed). He says the crack happened because the canvas is too thin and not properly sized and gessoed. Is such a thing possible? I used a Masterpiece pre-stretched canvas 3x gessoed, and I applied another 3 coats of acrylic gesso. I’ve never seen a crack like this, but I usually work smaller, it’s the first time I used a canvas 76×102 cm. Do you know any art restorers? What brand of canvas and gesso would you recommend? Do you buy pre-stretched, or stretch and prime the canvas yourself?
I very much value your expertise and thank you for your time. Looking forward to seeing you at the drawing sessions soon!
Kindest regards,
Yelena
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1 Reply
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She should definitely contact the manufacturer of the canvas – who knows what they use to size those things. I recommend buying unsized canvases and gessoing/sizing them oneself. Or stretch one’s own!
Cracking can come from a lot of things – I’ve mostly seen it from violations of fat over lean or from varnishing too early. Or using too much drier!
In any case, it’s VERY tricky to restore