Below are the steps I followed to mount my artwork on canvas and varnish it.
Left - after spraying the canvas with 5 coats of Prismacolor Final Fixative Gloss, and letting it cure overnight, I trimmed away the white boarder.
Right - the canvas is now trimmed and ready for mounting.
Left - for mounting I used Frank's PH Fabric Adhesive (purchased from my framer) and a foam roller. I apply this type of adhesive only to canvas or fabric in general. When mounting paper I prefer to use Grafix Double Tack Mounting Film (for more on this subject please visit my post on Glassless Framing).
Right - after mounting the canvas on my Ampersand Claybord with 3/4" cradle, I rolled a brayer all over the surface, paying particular attention to corners and edges.
Left - I then placed the canvas-mounted board upside down under heavy books overnight.
Right - in the morning I carefully trimmed the canvas around the edges of the board. I had originally extended the drawing a quarter inch all around to account for possible misalignment during mounting.
Left - as you can see some stubble was left over after trimming.
Right - I cleaned up the fuzz with a fine grade sandpaper.
Left - I finally began to paint the sides of the cradled board with acrylic. I applied three coats.
Right - the sides are all painted.
Left - here's everything I used for varnishing: Golden Polymer Varnish with UVLS Gloss, a container for mixing the varnish, a small measuring cup, a wide brush for the top surface, and a smaller brush for the sides. I mixed one part water to two parts varnish.
Right - after elevating the board from the table I began varnishing the top.
Left - notice how the first coat of varnish looks while still wet. I painted four coats, waiting three hours in between.
Right - I used the small brush to spread the varnish drips all over the sides. I like the sides to be as glossy as the top surface.
Left - after curing for a week, the panel was finally framed without glass.
Right - Here you can see a close-up of the frame and panel.
CONCLUSIONS:
Why did I do all this? Well, I wanted to experiment with canvas and the Icarus board. I clearly could not have used stretched canvas and did not want to use 1/8" canvas panels. These panels are a good option for artists who work with the Icarus board. However I like my art to be mounted on panels with at least 3/4" cradle so I needed to use canvas by the yard.
The best discovery I made during this experiment is to apply one coat of Art Spectrum Colourfix Clear Primer on the acrylic painted canvas. This establishes an amazing ground for any type of drawing medium so that it can strongly adhere to the canvas. Colourfix primer can be applied directly to the canvas without an acrylic underpainting, if one chooses to do so. (edited 10/9/11)
Perhaps in the future I will experiment with artist crayons and oil pastels on canvas and the Icarus board. These mediums lend themselves to larger and looser applications.
I'm very happy with my finished artwork. Coming from an oil paint background I can tell you that it looks better than any of my old oil paintings. These were never varnished (who wants to wait six months?) and appear blotchy and uneven.
To read the two previous posts on "Canvas and the Icarus Board", please click on the following links:
Canvas and the Icarus Board
Canvas and the Icarus Board: Part 2
If you are interested in how I mount and frame my artwork on paper without glass, please click on this link:
Thank you for reading my blog! Feel free to comment or ask questions.
25 comments
Canvas and the Icarus Board: Part 2 | Ester Roi
October 08, 2011
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Canvas and the Icarus Board | Ester Roi's Web
October 08, 2011
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Barbara Rogers
October 08, 2011
It’s lovely! In addition, I really like it. Good composition and use of color.
Barbara
Ester Roi
October 08, 2011
Thanks, Barbara! I’m pleasantly surprised by your visit and thankful for your comment.
Debbie Hook
October 08, 2011
Ester thank you for sharing this with us.
You are one of the color pencil pioneers! Some day I do hope to be able to own one of your boards. Just not a possibility for me right now. :(
Ester Roi
October 08, 2011
My pleasure, Debbie!
Jill
October 08, 2011
Wow this looks really great framed.
Ester Roi
October 08, 2011
Thanks, Jill, I’m glad you like it!
Juliet Aucreman
October 09, 2011
Always fresh and astonishing!
Ester Roi
October 09, 2011
Thank you, Juliet!
Hazen Folse
October 09, 2011
I love your blogs. They are so informative that I want to try every technique you include. Thank you for so generously sharing your discoveries.
Hazen Folse
Hazen Folse
October 09, 2011
After reading the three blogs again, one thing is not clear to me. It sounds like you applied the clear primer on top of the acrylic when you discovered the wax pencil was not adhering. Then in the final blog I think you are recommending that the canvas receive the clear primer before beginning. Is it used both times when beginning with acrylic?
Hazen Folse
Ester Roi
October 09, 2011
Thank you for pointing this out, Hazen. I edited my paragraph to clear the confusion.
In my experiment I decided to block-in the colors with acrylic to speed things up. Well, acrylic doesn’t need any help with adhesion to the canvas but colored pencil does, therefore I applied the clear Colourfix primer over the acrylic. If I decided to go without an acrylic underpainting, then I would apply the Colourfix primer directly on the canvas. In other words, the primer is only used once, right before layering colored pencil. I hope this clears things up.
Richard Klekociuk
October 09, 2011
Thank you Ester for a most interesting and informative post. You have given me much food for thought.
Ester Roi
October 09, 2011
My pleasure, Richard! I’m glad you found my post interesting.
Debbi Friedman
October 10, 2011
Hmm, Ester, I wrote a long comment but it never went through! The process you demonstrate is amazing. So many steps and such thoroughness lead to a beautiful showing of your already beautiful artwork. I am so impressed that you have developed this process, and thank you for sharing it! Maybe I’ll try it someday.
Ester Roi
October 10, 2011
I’m so sorry about your previous comment not going through - I actually found it in the spam - can you believe it? Anyway, thank you for your feedback, Debbi, I really appreciate it.
Teresa Mallen
October 13, 2011
Fabulous post Ester. Thanks for taking the time to show us all of the steps. Lovely to see your work framed!
I recently attended a workshop given by a Golden representative. Golden sells various primer types of products along with their gels and mediums. I was intrigued by a few that were meant for use under pastel and other drawing media. So many things to try and explore! :-)
Ester Roi
October 13, 2011
Thank you, Teresa! I also purchased several different types of Golden Acrylic Grounds for pastels and drawing media. I’m planning to experiment with them soon.
Suzanne Kuuskmae
November 30, 2011
Dear Ester: You are always great for giving me new ideas & possibilities, and it is very generous of you to share your knowledge so willingly. That is such a rare trait and I applaud you. Miss seeing you! I have been spending much time on pastel painting but might just try this method on the canvas. I am just finishing my fourth colored pencil Thai Lady in my series. Best regards, Sue K
Ester Roi
November 30, 2011
Sue, nice to hear from you! I’m glad you are continuing your beautiful Thai Lady series. Can’t wait to see your fourth!
Bonnie MacKenzie
December 12, 2011
Hi Ester - Love this idea! Do you think it’s possible to stretch the finished canvas on stretcher strips as another option to mounting? As you would an oil or acrylic painting?
Ester Roi
December 12, 2011
Bonnie, I’m not sure that colored pencil is flexible enough to withstand the stretching of the canvas. I personally wouldn’t take the chance - I’d feel better to mount the canvas on a panel. However it would be an interesting experiment.
Nancy Pingree Hoover
September 24, 2013
Ester, sorry to bother you with another question, but have you tried using matte medium to adhere the canvas to the board? That’s what I was taught to use to mount paper to a board. Think it will work with canvas too?
Ester Roi
October 01, 2013
No problem, Nancy, it’s my pleasure! Yes, I have experimented with matte medium and various glues. They all work fine but I prefer this framer glue because it stays wet long enough for re-positioning but dries pretty quickly afterwards.