Artist Surfaces - Linen and Cotton

Linen and Cotton

Please click here to see our Canvas and Linen prices

Linen

Linen has been the professional painter’s choice for centuries providing one of the best painting surfaces to work on. The finest linen has a high thread count per inch creating a beautiful natural texture to work on.

We sell a large range of the finest Belgian linen which is available unprimed, sized or primed in oil and acrylic primer to a flawless finish.

Linen is far superior to cotton in terms of its strength and durability, the length of the natural fibers which are spun into threads are naturally longer than that of cotton and can create a lighter yet stronger weave. There are four surface grades coarse, medium, fine and superfine. The texture of the surface is determined by the threads per inch (thread count) and the construction of the weave.

A rough surface helps to pull the paint from a brush or palette knife – particularly useful if you use impasto techniques in your work. A medium-tooth surface makes it easier to blend large areas. A smooth surface is ideal for those who work with glazes and to fine detail and was traditionally used as a portrait linen for modulation of tone.

Cotton Duck

The preferred choice for many artists due to its economic price, Cotton Duck provides a smooth regular support with an even grain and is available in many widths and weights.

As cotton when compared with linen is its strength, especially when wet. Cotton can be more prone to bacterial growth, to increase artwork longevity, we recommend a minimum of 12oz for best practice.

There are two basic kinds of primed canvas, acrylic primed or oil primed. We supply Cotton Duck unprimed as well as primed for artists who prefer not to prepare their own supports. The important thing to keep in mind when making your selection is that acrylic primed canvas can be used with almost any paint media. Oil primed canvas is only to be used with traditional oil paint or water soluble oil paints.