How to Stretch and size a Painting| Prepare a Canvas for Painting

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The Painter's Process | Sketch to Completion | Chiaroscuro Style | Make a Stretcher | Stretching and Sizing

We never try to save money for materials, particularly for a small painting... we use top quality linen.

You may wish to use a heavy textured canvas or a smoother, finer linen. You will find your own solutions over time and with experience!

To size the canvas we use rabbit skin glue. A number of recipes abound for rabbit skin glue(size) - Which can be confusing. Don't worry... A simple rabbit skin glue recipe is: 1 heaped tablespoonful per 1 pint of hot water.

Put your metal glue pot in another heavy bottomed pan and fill the pan so that it come up to the 3/4 line of you glue pot.
Bring the pan to the boil and then turn down the heat to simmer.
Stir the warmed water in your glue pot and gradually sprinkle in the glue - stirring all the time with the brush that you will use to paint the size on to the painting surface.
Stir until all the rabbit skin glue has dissolved.
Carefully carry both pan and pot to your work and set down on a heat proof surface.
The hot pan will keep the size usable throughout the painting process.

You will know that you had the right painting consistency when the glue cools down and sets to a loose jelly/jello (this mixture can be heated again and re-used). Mix a quarter more than you think you will need for each application and store it in a cool place away from food for not more than a week (it smells bad!!).

Painting of two coats of size are recommended allow first painted coat to dry completely then use a fine sandpaper to remove any hairs or crystals - gently sand the entire painting surface. Recoat with with your saved amount of size - you will need much less for your second coat. When the second coat is dry gently sand once more to provide a key for your oil painting.

Stretching and Sizing


1. A choice of tools & linen	2. Cutting the cloth to fit	3. One staple for each side

4. Opposite sides first	5. Hospital corners	6. Stapling the corner

7. Finished corner	8. Finished stretcher (tidy)	9. Ready to size

10. Keep surfaces clean	11. Outsides first	12. The sized canvas