Phil Starke Art Talk

If you haven’t tried linen canvas because of the cost, Utrecht sells raw linen by the yard, which really makes it affordable.  There are some manufacturers who sell stretched linen at a good price, but the quality is pretty poor, a good cotton canvas would be better.

A good quality linen is always expensive, (I know cost is relative but this stuff is high) mainly because it comes in 3, 6 or 10 yard rolls and is already primed with an oil or gesso primer.  Utrecht sells raw linen by the yard so its a good way to try it without a huge investment.  You do have to stretch it and prime it but with a little work it’s well worth it.

I buy type 135 from Utrecht which is $29.69 a yard.  It’s 54″ wide and a medium smooth texture.  For large canvases I use type 79D, a rough texture at $$49.49 a yard and it’s 76″ wide.  I do use cotton at times too, the heavier the better because it’s very cost effective but there is a big difference between cotton and linen in quality.

I do recommend cotton for practice and experimenting but at some point it does help to step up to a better quality.

I’ve been teaching art classes on line now for about a month and I find it a challenging and effective way to teach.  The classes start each week with a 40 to 45 minute video demonstration that covers a different subject each time.   Along with the videos I give assignments and exercises for students to do and send back at the end of the week for critique.  Using Photoshop and Video I critique the work and email it back. 

The challenging part is critiquing the work without the student present to respond, but the video critiques give me more time to respond and go into more detail.  Students seem to like the idea of having a structured format, a demonstration to watch, assignments and feedback.  It gives them a schedule to stay on and a goal to shoot for in seeing progress in their work.