An original painting on canvas from the VanArtHub gallery at 1242 Davie Street in Vancouver.

Canvas · Vancouver

Canvas Stretching for Artists

Stretching for working artists in Vancouver: repeat sizes, batches before a show, and bars cut to your dimensions rather than to a stock size. 1242 Davie Street.

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If you paint on canvas and you are tired of stretching your own, or you have a show coming and eleven pieces to get ready, this is the version of the service built for that. Bars cut to your dimensions rather than to a stock size, one depth held across a whole series, and batches planned around what is actually in stock.

What working artists usually want

  • Consistency across a series. A body of work hung together with mixed bar depths reads as inconsistent even when nobody can point to why. Tell us it is a series and we hold one depth across all of it.
  • Repeat sizes. If you work to a few standard dimensions, we keep them on file so the second batch does not need re-measuring.
  • Your own canvas. Bring your own roll or your own pre-primed lengths and we cut bars to suit. If you want advice on the fabric, bring a sample rather than a description.
  • Gallery wrap depth decided early. If the sides will show, the depth changes how much painted area you need. That is a conversation to have before you paint, not after.

Batches before a show

Come in early, even before every piece is finished. Batch work is planned around stock, and a depth chosen with availability in mind is often the difference between your date working and not working. The week before a show is the worst time to discover that the bar you want has to be ordered in.

No obligation in either direction

Stretching is a service. It does not commit you to showing or selling work with us, and we do not treat it as a route to that. If a conversation about representation ever makes sense it is a separate one, started by you.

What we need

Dimensions for each piece, the unpainted margin on each, whether they are gallery wraps or will be framed, and your date. A photograph of one corner of a representative piece tells us more than a description of all of them.

1 2 3 4 centre first, then outward, alternating sides
Staples go in from the middle of each side, alternating to the opposite side and then to the other pair, working outward toward the corners. Stapling along one side first drags the weave crooked and pulls the image off square, and once the paint has dried in that position it cannot be corrected.

How it works

  1. 1

    Bring it in, or send photographs

    Walk in to 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. If you are not in Vancouver, send the dimensions and a photograph and we will work from that.

  2. 2

    We look at the actual piece

    What it is made of, what condition it is in, and where it is going to hang all change the answer. You get a straight recommendation and a price for your piece, not a rate card.

  3. 3

    It is made by hand and fitted

    Cut to the piece, using conservation materials, and finished with hanging hardware rated for the actual weight.

Common questions

Do you stretch canvases for working artists?

Yes, including repeat sizes and batches before a show. Bars are cut to your dimensions rather than to a stock size, and a consistent depth can be held across a whole body of work so the pieces read as a set when they hang together.

Can you do a batch before an exhibition?

Yes, and it is worth talking to us early rather than the week before. Batch work is planned around what is in stock, and a moulding or bar depth chosen with availability in mind is often the difference between a date working and not working.

Can you match the depth across a series?

Yes, and it is worth deciding at the start. A series hung together with mixed bar depths reads as inconsistent even when nobody can say why. Tell us it is a series and we will hold one depth across all of it.

Do you stretch canvas I supply?

Yes. Bring your own roll or your own pre-primed lengths and we will cut bars to suit. If you want us to advise on the fabric itself, bring a sample rather than a description.

What do you need from me for a batch?

The dimensions of each piece, the margin on each, whether they are gallery wraps or will be framed, and the date you need them. Photographs of one corner of a representative piece help more than you would expect.

Do you sell the work you stretch?

Only if you want us to and only through the normal gallery process, which is a separate conversation. Stretching is a service and it carries no obligation in either direction.

Other things we frame

Where to find us

VanArtHub Gallery 1242 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 1N3
Canada
Monday10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Wednesday10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Get directions Call (604) 401-9499

Not sure what yours needs?

Send the measurements, what it is made of, and a photograph. We will tell you what it actually needs, including when the answer is that it needs less than you expected.

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