I love these organic shapes, and the paintings upon them! The woman with the fish is gorgeous! I think the next step for your canvases would be to seek some textiles specialists, fabric designers, and seamstresses. The carpenter can help on the backing, but the fabrics community can help with the geometry and folds (or lack thereof) on the canvas part! Perhaps it would involve folding fabrics, but with ways to conceal and smooth the folds to be invisible. Looking forward to your eventual solution! :)
There is another YT channel I watch called Baumgartner restoration. Not sure if you’ve seen it. Julian Baumgartner in Chicago, USA does wonderful restorations of old, sometimes heavily damaged paintings and brings them back to life. In his processes, he is always trying to find novel ways to his restoration processes, including having his own woodworking shop when dealing with frame restoration & constructing new stretchers, sometimes with non-rectangular pieces. Maybe you could try reaching out to him for any ideas? In my seeing how he is able to stabilize torn and worn canvases, he might have some suggestions that could be useful. Perhaps even a collaboration with you? Hope you find your solution!
@@AlpayEfe if the thickness of your canvas is an inch and a half and the back of your canvas is another inch and a half, try adding on 3 inches of canvas compared to your frame. Lay down the canvas on the table, put the frame over it and draw around it giving it three extra inches than the size of your frame. once that’s done, cut that out like a pattern for clothing. It’ll be a lot easier to tuck the fabric in without all the extra fabric still hanging from it. And of course, if the side of the of the your canvas is 2 inches and the back is 2 inches then obviously you would put an extra 4 inches of fabric or canvas.
I know how it's done! It's super easy! Just make tiny rectangular shaped canvases and then glue them together, so that the resulting canvas appears to have a rounded shape. Read something about infinitesimal calculus, it will help you!!!!! (I have another solution, but it involves warping reality...)
It looks like you need the help of a seamstress or someone who does upholstery. Seamstresses have a way of cutting darts into fabric to make it work. Try looking up a video of how to upholster a chair. They usually cut around it and staple it to the back of the wood with a staple gun. I love your paintings by the way. Good luck, I’m pretty sure it can be done.
I second this and I sew professionally. I think this can be done with a little tweak in the method. Although eliminating the fold or crease completely around the concave curves will still be tricky, but I don't think it's impossible. For the optimal result and more efficiency, you might find it easier to adjust the angles of the organic shape. Good luck! As always beautiful work.
maybe try to work with someone who is knowledgeable in Upholstery (my dad is one). You definitely can't get around folds around curves when stretching fabric onto it. The trick would be to make smart choices in where the folds go to be less visible/intrusive to the eye.
This came to mind straight away so it is likely something you've tried: I would seal the finished curved canvas stretchers to protect them from moisture. Then soak unprimed canvas in water. Then carefully stretch the wet canvas over the stretcher form. You could spray it with water to keep wet during stretching. Once it dries you can prime it. Also talk to upholsterers and people who specialize in fabric wall coverings, like the silk wall coverings popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Best of luck! Love the idea, and special props to your carpenter!!
You could use alumnium composite panels for your support and either paint drectly on to them or glue canvas to them if you must have canvas. They are lighter than wood, come in large sizes and can be cut to whatever shape you want. If you want to wrap the canvas around, they are thin so it would be a lot easier.
I would try talking to a skilled furniture upholsterer. They deal with curves all the time. It is harder with a stiffer material like canvas but they may have some good techniques.
TOTALLY doable!! Yacht furniture makers and upholsterers use canvas (marine-grade canvas like Sailrite and Sunbrella but hey, it's still canvas) all the time.
Let the edges be messy but make them as flat as possible, and add a strip of veneer or something similar on top of it to simply cover up the mess? And/or use plaster to sculpt and smooth it out, and seal the plaster with varnish and gesso to make the surface paintable. It's how I imagine it'd be done, but I've never actually tried it. I feel very inspired to experiment with it now though :P
Ok, so I found the only way I was able to get weird shapes in canvas without many wrinkles, was getting the canvas wet prior to stretching. The only issue was you have to make the wood ridged enough that it's not going to warp once it's wet too. You have to soak the canvas so there's A LOT of water. Plywood works better than solid wood. With solid wood you have to have even pressure and press them to keep them completely flat during the drying time. Since you have a carpenter that helps make the frames for you, they'll understand. I've never done anything terribly big before, so that's slightly new territory.
Wow Alpey... almost 1M Subs😮? I remember when you barely had any Subscribers... This is insane! Looks like youll be hitting that 1M by summer time... WOW! You are a unstoppable beast machine!🎉
The shaped canvases I've seen from Takashi Murakami and Tomokazu Matsuyama, for example, all follow this same method - panel and wrapped with canvas. Unless you design the shape of the canvas perfectly, it would be impossible to do without the panel because you can't get the correct cross-tension and it would be rough to paint on. Well done for persisting though mate, looks amazing.
The reason for traditional shape for paintings is so it can be stretched but can also move with the humidity or dryness of the air. A shaped wood frame does not shrink and contract evenly due to the grain of the wood.
For those odd inside corners, I would take a look at "Box Pleats and Inverted Pleats" in sewing, your would end up being triangular with the point ending at the top edge of the frame. Hopefully you find something that works well for you.
I love that painting and I agree that the irregular canvas absolutely adds to it. I'm a costume designer, upholsterer, and artis who has stretched canvases, so I do know something about working with fabric. You have two problems that can't be altered. Canvas is heavy and it doesn't stretch. Light weight stretchy fabrics can be molded to almost any shape, but you can't paint on it. Relatively loose weave fabrics, like most upholstery fabrics, can be molded, as well, but obviously that wouldn't be appropriate, either. The only way that I can see doing it is to do like you did before, cutting out gores to get rid of the folds and adding slits to go down into the crevasses. Then cover the sides with some sort of tape to smooth it all over. That could be a strip of canvas, some sort of woven fiber braid, strips of heavy paper, but all of those will be a finishing edge, not a blind turned canvas. You will absolutely want to start with plain canvas in the lightest weight that you feel comfortable painting on to minimize the thickness of any extra fabric that lumps up, and the depths of any Vs that you cut out. As I'm typing this I'm having an idea. Exactly how to do it depends on how relatively smooth you can wrap the first canvas and how absolutely smooth you want the finished edges to be. If it just needs to look neat, you can use layers of cotton muslin. If you want it as sharp as a straight stretched edge, you will need to add a paper liner. I'll start with the paper liner. It sounds like you want something archival, although I'm not sure that is an issue in this case. I would just use craft paper, but my paintings don't sell for thousands. You need something medium weight. Having gaps in the stretched canvas wont be a problem. Having wrinkles will be. You need to either massage the extra materiel in, or pinch it up and cut it off. Get the edge as smooth as possible. Cut strips of paper about 8mm narrower than the side of the canvas. Although, it could be wider if it's easier to work with and you can cut it down on the back side. Glue that over your canvas with whatever white glue type glue you feel comfortable using. It should be something that dries stiff. Place the edge of the paper about 6 or 8 mm from the front edge, or a bit closer if absolutely necessary to barely cover the uneven spots but not on the front edge. Then take strips of cotton muslin and glue them over the paper lapping the front edge out a few millimeters over the paper edge. With each one a bit closer until you reach the edge of the canvas. Try to adhere these to the canvas, if possible. The last one will come right to the corner of the canvas make sure it is glued down smooth. If you are using a water soluble glue (like white glue) soak this last strip in water but blot it dry until it is just damp. That will soften the fabric and make it easier to mold it along that edge. The should give a transition that is smooth enough that several coats of gesso will cover it up. Play around with it. You might be able to get a smooth enough surface with muslin that you wont need the paper underneath. You could even start with a fairly heavy weight muslin for the first layer but probably not as heavy as painting canvas. Good luck!
Your perseverance is paying off. I would have given up and painted directly on a wood panel like I was living in the Renaissance. You are amazing as always.
I like rectangles or even circles more, but they can get really repetitive. I think that a nontraditional canvas like this can be lovely when it makes sense for the piece.
There is a way to do this-you should contact an upholsterer because the construction will need to be in one piece on the front and the 2nd piece will go along the side-similar to a chair cover and pulls over like a slip cover. There will be seam allowance inside but talk to an upholsterer because they can help you! 😀
1. SEHR GEIL!!! 2. Polsterer befragen (ein besonders guter möglichst) 3. Gemälderestauratoren befragen (z.B. bezüglich Rondos) 4. Wasserfrei kleben, z.B. mit dem sogenannten Beva-Film (auch dazu Gemälderestauratoren befragen) 5. Beidseitig beschichten 6. Weitermachen! Wie gesagt: Sehr geil!
It's an innovative idea! Make the most out of it, by using the shape to your theme painting narrative. This could have the shape of a jar let's say. Thanks for sharing!!
It's been done many times. One of my favorite artists is Audrey Kawasaki; she paints on wood panels and has had some CNC cut into cool shapes, although she lets the natural wood surface show, which isn't what he's after.
Agreed! I love playing with the conventional canvas to create a new experience, but we artists already have so many rules in making sure our compositions work with the standard square/rectangle... Why would that be any different for an organic shape? For all that effort it should be considered as part of the image itself, not just the surface it's painted upon.
For some reason I get the thought of fitted sheets like for your bed. Hear me out the fitted sheets on your bed you want them smooth and stretch tight that's the goal. What is for your canvases you had someone so something like that with the elastic in certain spots you can staple it down on the back without worrying about them being creases on the front. But that way you wouldn't have to worry about the fraying.
Hi Alpay, so how invested are you in having that 1inch edge to your canvas? I think if you were to "sand/shave" down the edges of your frame (while maintaining the thickness of the rest of the frame for strength & support - sort of like the edge of a knife but only shaping the back of the frame edge) it would allow you to more cleanly stretch the canvas over the edge and then hide most of the required pleating on the back. The compromise would be that you get more of a floating canvas effect once its hung.
Maybe you could use something similar to embroidery hoops. Where the material is trapped between two pieces of the hoop, then pulled and tensioned to make the surface tight .
I've seen automotive upholsterers form vinyl and leather around all sorts of shapes using heat but trying to do the same with linen most likely just doesn't work. Anyway, I absolutely love the painting of the lady with the fish - your style is so modern and clean looking. Probably my favourite of everything I've seen lately.
I hope you can solve the canvas wrapping problem before it consumes you 😄 It seems like they need to make a canvas that has a bit of stretch to it so it clings to the edges better. Anyway, this piece turned out beautifully with the organic, pond-like shape.
Very insightful walkthrough of your process! When I did my BFA, I also made irregularly shaped canvas (stretched). Making curved organic shapes was impossible! I ended up making angular shaped stretcher bars and the canvas was easier to stretch over. If I were to go back to making organic, curved shaped canvas, I would have to get GOOD with drafting patterns and sewing darts or strategic pleats to the canvas in order to NOT make the edges horrible.
I did such canvases myself in around 2008 year. It was fysically very hard to do. My husband helped me. I remember, that I used blank canvas and used water, because it was easyer to strech wet canvas. I was aplying the primer only after streching the canvas.
What if you stretched the canvas and tacked it on top, instead of wrapping around the sides. You could then have your woodworker make a frame of same shape and use that to cover the tacks/staples.
The LLM in my head comes up with the following: Across a frame or table (rectangle) stretch a canvas face down and taught. Then place your bubble frame on top of it using 'glue'. Depending on how much "shrink" is left in the cotton canvas you may use water or light steam to shrink it tighter? Cut it out and take it from there.
all i could think of is to cut out the exact shape,sew it (or glue it)onto a stretchy fabric that will wrap around the canvas bars and spray it in the back to tighten it. maybe? Prime it after stretched.
You might consider a mix of aluminium composite sheet material such as " Dibond" with a wooden frame support that could provide a lightweight alternative. It is what road signs are made from. It is easy to cut into any shape and is resistant to warping.
@@Jules_Pew Assuming we are talking about the same thing. Yes it is heavier than just a canvas obviously. However compared to wood there is no comparison. You can also paint directly onto it (using an appropriate primer first of course) without the need for canvas at all.
Square (oblong) canvas is better because that is the standard shape for photography, etc and if you love your art you always take a photo backup. If you want the shape of a giant blob I think your best option is to use a frame of that shape... In order to avoid the frame becoming an extension of the painting, I would imagine that plain white works best.
A Furniture upholsterer would be stretching fabric over unusual shapes. I think you have to embrace the folds on the side of the canvas as a unique aspect of this kind of canvas. Maybe approaching from almost a fashion sensibility or incorporating the folds into the painting. The painting you ended up with feels like it benefits from the shape of the canvas because it feels like a thought bubble for a daydream she’s having.
Ok… can I give you a totally out there idea? Investigate Fiberglass. It can be impregnated into a fabric substrate. But the thing about it is that while it’s being worked, it’s mailable but then it cures rigid. You can leave the surface as a rough canvas and treat it with gesso or it can be totally smooth. Reach out to people that are making kayaks and other boats. Also, find people that are making ultralight planes. They craft their own airplane parts and may be using materials you haven’t thought of like carbon fiber. You might have to go with inorganic materials to get the organic feel you’re looking for.
I like your non squared art ! With paper it’s so much easier to change shape (for watercolor). Can’t you prime a panel and not use the cotton ? Or could you use the same material used for cast (for a Brocken leg) ? It’s possible to make so many shapes with this plaster. Just brainstorming. Love your work. Always happy to see a new video. Happy new year.
Would Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration and Conservation be able to help? He has a RUclips channel and he has done curved stretching for some of his restorations. Maybe he could give you some tips.
Have you thought about using an aluminum composite panel? They’re significantly lighter than wood panels and could offer a smoother, more durable surface for your project. I’m sure they’re more expensive, but perhaps a manufacturer might be willing to provide one, given the opportunity to showcase the potential of that material for irregularly shaped paintings. Just a thought! Anyway, I absolutely love this idea and can’t wait to see where you take it!
I came here to say the same thing. Aluminum composite or maybe even pvc. I have experience with both from working in the sign industry and they are much lighter than wood
Given my limited sewing experience, I'd say to cover this shape smothly you'd need something really strechy, but I don't know if that would be a good surface to paint on. Maybe use strechy fabric as lining to cover everything, and attach canvas that is just the shape of the frame, so you'd have a regular canvas with strechy edges. Also I think talking to an upholsterer might help you, as they are used to covering weird shapes in fabric.
I love that you are striving to do something quite novel still. So many would achieve your level and then simply crank out volumes of the same thing to make money, completely missing the wonder of art that is creative and inventive. I like the other comment that suggested working with a seamstress or taylor: someone really well versed in how to take a grid form (ie warp and weft of your canvas weave) and stretch this over a complex form without creases. Another idea is to explore working with bent wood as an edging or shadow box to cover up your edge folds. (Meaning, have the top surface crease-free and have minimal folds on the very edge. The bent wood appliqué edging would cover these folds to hide them. You could even have carving or painting of this wood edging to match with the main subject on the canvas. This could give the option of matching smoothly and seamlessly from canvas front surface and wrapping around to the wall in an elegant way. Or you could play up the difference in material between the canvas and wood edging to have both in context with each other. Being able to deliver a message in two parts of the one whole piece might even help improve your depth in delivering your artistic message for any given piece.) I'm a visual artist as well as working in wood, all whilst working full time as an engineer. Let me know if you would like to collaborate, as this is my kind of "create a new box" kind of problem to solve. Cheers
Alupanel is an aluminum composite product for the signmaking industry. It's thin, painted aluminum on both sides with a plastic/rubber layer in between. It doesn't warp and is very stable and durable. The shiny painted surface could be sanded and painted over. It's also fairly easy to cut with a jigsaw/metal blade and it can be had in large sheets, usually from a sign shop.
From my point of view (I'm a figurines painter) don't use wood, use a thin board of plastic and don't put canvas on it. I saw a few painters trying this. The advantages is that plastic don't move with humidity and will last thousands of years. You just need to put a layer of acrylic primer on it and you can then paint directly on it. Another option is to use a custom canvas that is weaved to the shape of the wood, a bit like a sock.
I have an idea of creating square canvas frame even bigger than complex-shaped canvas frame. Then stretch canvas over it. And glue complex-shaped canvas frame on stretched canvas fabric. Wait until the glue hardens. And cut the shape Difficulties you may encounter along the way: - Create a square frame without any crossbars in the middle - Find glue good enough to hold the canvas stretched But all difficulties seem solvable
Also, I follow a British tonalist painter named Stuart Davies, and he paints directly on wood. He gets sheets of about 1/2" to 1" plywood, sands it, primes and sands 2 to 3 times, then paints directly on the wood.
I'm no expert🙃) but if I were you I would cut the fabric to the same shape and size as the wooden base and then add an inner frame that takes up a little of the front space to cover the staple marks🧩🤔, or an outer frame around the wooden base that is pressed towards the base to tighten the fabric, such as an embroidery hoop🪡🧶, Try using an iron to make the process easier or even follow how gifts are wrapped🎁, I hope you find a way to implement your ideas🪄✨, Good luck👍😁
MDF and contact cement with one of those rubber pressure rollers is how I'd go for it. Contact cement would go on both surfaces to be joined, and you wait until it's almost dry but still tacky. Then when both parts are pressed together they form a practically permanent bind. Applied even, go over with the pressure roller, that's never coming apart. Thus a possible plan would be to bind the canvas onto a fiberboard that's thinner than the usual wood and go from there. Also back the MDF with some kind of framing to keep it from flexing too much. There's likely some videos on upholstery or similar that will show how to do fabric applique on panels like that. You can also get that contact cement in spray adhesive form too, in order to make things easier/quicker when using it on large surfaces. Alternately if you're still trying to stretch canvas onto an irregular frame - use steam. However you'd have to be careful about a wooden frame because it would take up the moisture. But that gives a lot more potential with conforming a fabric than stretching without steaming it. Again, crossing into the domain of how some things may be done with upholstery would show how such is done.
I feel like the issue of the fabric with the folds could be patched with pattern drafting techniques. Such as darts. However, the best was to make a wood canvas. Lovely to see you go back to your art videos
As a seamstress, cutting darts will be your friend and using many staples. Go seek out an upholstery business and maybe some who specializes in corsets as they have many curves in them. Love the concept and good luck on perfecting this new canvas.
Think of the curved frame as being composed of hundreds of rectangular pieces - a curve composed of straight lines. Accordingly, cut (almost) perpendicular lines into the edge of your canvas, creating rectangular flaps around the painting area. Attach these rectangular flaps to the side of the frame. (If you imagine this for the simplest shape, a circle, you will need a circle surrounded by rectangles, which means cutting off acute triangles from the edge, instead of simply cutting perpendicular lines into the fabric.)
I would study how they stretch and put canvas on circle canvases. The process is exactly the same for unique shapes. They snip some areas and first stretch the main 4 sides and work each midsection.
Loved your video. Maybe you could contact a furniture upholsterer as they are able to manipulate thick fabric around odd shapes with furniture?? Good luck on your quest to find an answer.
Have you spoken to a upolsterer? they must deal with wrapping fabric around weird shapes all the time. These kinda look like huge fine art stickers. I love em.
Start with a larger square or rectangle frame and sketch your canvas to that. Then lay it on its face and place your oddly shaped frame with glue on its face flat down on it until its dried. Remove the square frame and fold the rest over. You’ll deal with creases on the edges but the face will be flat and ready to paint on.
Have you tried working with someone in the garment industry? I am thinking of the countless runways I've watched with fabric stretched over a hard base, without a seam, rough cut, or wrinkle. Just a thought. Interesting concept with your canvas! I like it!
It is a thought provoking concept and complex (you'll need some wood and fabric wizards). It must be a pain to transport them. My brain is taking time to adjust to the shape in the wall, there is something familiar about it and weird in a good way. I'm used to street artists using different/more rounded objects as a base (like skate boards for example), but it always has an urban feel to it. But the softness of your paintings, in those shapes its... for me, is like bringing the online offline. The amount of masks ive made with blobs/vector shapes on websites... I know that is not the intent, and art is subjective. But it did made me thing of those things. And I agree with you, that organic canvas fabric looked awful in the sides. Hope you'll figure it out, can't wait to see the 2.0 version of this canvas. It would be a great journey to see.
Can't remember their name but there's that artist that does dripping shaped works, they have custom frames that follow the drips. They probably work small scale on boards though. Have you thought about approaching a dress maker? They could potentially get super clean, tight seams that you could use wall filler over and sand smooth?
Take a look at aluminum panels and Gator board for oil painting. Light weight, cut to any shape, and won't warp. There are a few videos on YT of people using both of these surfaces.
I’ve done cutouts with HDF sheets. They’re heavy, you got to use good hardware for hanging but you just use a roto-zip and make any shape you want. One side is covered in a smooth thick paper ready for gesso and the HDF not MDF is best against moisture. It doesn’t have a canvas tooth but rough sanding a gesso finish can give you a watercolor paper feel.
I[m afraid there will be stitching involved. When I have upholstered bedheads for fancy beds, I often had to make a seam shaped like the piece so that if you think of a shaped duvet cover going over a shaped duvet, you would need it doubled, then you would make the outline shape then slip it over by cutting through the middle of one side then pulling it tight and stapling it down, then cutting away the back half. That is the only thing i can think of. You will probably have to taper your shape somewhat to allow for stretching where you have bends but it can be done very deftly with pulling and stapling. The trouble with acute and obtuse angles is that obviously there is a lack of fabric or a massive excess of it. the only possible way to allow for this is to have two sides made to measure and stretch the 'short' side to take up the slack.
Upholstery is different because on a painting you want the threads to have an even stretch on the whole surface. Cutting slots to wrap a curve is well known, but even then the canvas would be tighter on the edges than in the middle. I wouldn't mind, but our boy here is after perfection.
It should be possible. Non square and rectangular shaped canvas is getting quite popular here in Indonesia and I've seen some artists doing some complicated shapes and they managed to stretch it neatly. Now I have not look into doing it myself nor have I watched any of these artists doing it, so I can't really give any input. But it is possible.
Alpay, I have one idea inspired from when I was an Interior Design intern at a place that made custom yacht furniture (with pieces that are usually curved). When we would cut out fabrics (often canvas or canvas-like material), we would either cut 1-2" (2.54-5.08cm) wider than the pattern as a "seam allowance" and wrap around with consistently cut clippings or notches that allow you to wrap it around the shape without a bunch of extra canvas bulk or puckering. In your case, this would be the canvas shape + depth. There are a few ways to finish the edge after doing this. I would suggest using a strip of bias tape to overlay and wrap around the entire finished edge, as it's ideal for using on curved surfaces for a nice, clean look. Or you could get extra fancy and sew some piping along the seam. 😉
Upholstery is different because on a painting you want the threads to have an even stretch on the whole surface. Seam allowance is well known, but even then the canvas would be tighter on the edges than in the middle. I wouldn't mind, but our boy here is after perfection.
@@nathanchildress5596 I understand that traditional upholstery is different than painter's linen or canvas, Nathan. I'm also a fine artist. What I described involves tightening exactly the same as having a "seam allowance" for wrapping a traditional canvas. The only difference would be the notching and clipping before stretching to accommodate the curves. It still needs stapling, hence adding a nice canvas overlay to cover them and finishing/sanding for a soft, streamlined finish.
@@krissyvanous Sorry to offend, I wasn't trying to imply that you're ignorant. It seems like he was doing that though, he showed a notch cut to wrap the curve, but he still wasn't satisfied with it. My suggestion was to use fiber board which doesn't expand like natural wood, then add texture to the gesso to imitate canvas, but I could be wrong too.
@@nathanchildress5596 2:55 minutes in, the canvas clearly has way too much excess. This is fine when stretching a traditional painting, but it becomes near impossible to make clean notches and clippings that lay flat with that much fabric on a curved surface. It needs to be cut to the same shape but with just enough allowance for wrapping cleanly. Fiberboard like MDF, HDF, particle board and plywood, are often heavy and prone to warping, especially as a larger piece; two things Alpay said he wanted to avoid. The stuff is also not moisture friendly unless you're using a specific moisture-resistant grade variant (heavy!), so any water-based gesso, paint or glue would need to be avoided. I learned this the hard way.
@@krissyvanous I've used fiber board before; you can get it in pretty thin sheets, and if you brace the edges and apply gesso in multiple thinner coats you won't run into the warping issue, since that comes from over saturation. After you build up the gesso it holds up pretty well, I've even done xerox transfers with pretty good results.
LOL- I have been working out the issues you are dealing with... about 5 years ago- I figured it out. I am in love with my panels now... Keep trying. At some point you will figure out how impressive perfecting your craft can be. Hopefully you will get more acknowledgement than I do for it. 20-30-40K??? I need to get into that market...
One idea not already mentioned , Vacuum sealing using large double sided adhesive sheets ? Good Luck on your quest and please let us have an update as you venture forth ! Also, love the concept and those paintings were standouts !
My thought is that if you can't eliminate creases, own them. Purposeful folds done at 90 degrees in the inside angles where the curves meet shouldn't take away from the aesthetic. after all, rectangular canvases have folds at the corners :)
You probably already tried this, but my instinct would be to wrap a strip of canvas around the edge after stretching the canvas to cover where the folds are. Maybe fold the strip so you don't have a cut edge meeting the painting surface. I feel like you could get a really smooth, even edge and with enough primer and sanding it might not even be visible.
Awesome brother. You are my favorite artist and will purchase that program. When do you think you will launch that? I’m going to sign up to your Patreon.
i love these canvses! i have a couple ideas- there might be processes that can possibly do this like plasticizers and you probably know some tricks already but maybe things like softeners, fabric softeners, etc. the fashion industry has software for this particular thing- like clo3d for pattern making. maybe something like this would help automate the shape of the canvas and then you could cut it out and install easier. finally, are there not other types of canvas material that could work? i'm not particularly familiar to the painting industry so i don't know. it would be interesting if there was canvas that also had lycra or something to make it stretchy, like stretchy jeans.
I understand why you want to do this... you've grown and accomplished so much as an artist, you need a new challenge now - it's why artists are like explorers. Even painting wonderfully gets boring after a while if you don't feel like you're challenging yourself and moving forwards somehow. One idea: how about painting on a canvas stretched the normal way with the goal shape drawn on it, then when it's dry and more rigid than a fresh canvas, glue it to the organic frame afterwards, trimming away the excess canvas. You could paint outside the lines enough that lining it up on the new frame wouldn't be too much of a nightmare (hopefully). The frame would need a flat surface around the edge big enough for the adhesive to work effectively, but would surely be much lighter than a complete panel. It'd still be tricky, but maybe worth considering?
Have you considered using plastic covered foam sandwich material that is normally used for commercial prints? It might solve the issue with the weight and should not warp from moisture (but i thought lightweight plywoods that could do the same also exist)?
What an interesting idea. At first, I thought the big painting had the shape of an apple with a bite mark on the right side, but then I saw that it was more abstract. If you want to go bigger with this, you might consider abandoning the idea of using wood - which has all the issues you mentioned - and maybe go for a carbon fiber frame that has the shape you want, possible with lots of crossing supports to remain stiff while the painting has a reasonable weight.
I’d even talk to someone who does upholstery for tips on stretching the canvas around complex turns and edges with better results. They may have ideas on the frame to keep it lightweight but sturdy.
I should be lucky that I got my idea working eventually - still not satisfied (being an artist in a nutshell 😂)
I love these organic shapes, and the paintings upon them! The woman with the fish is gorgeous!
I think the next step for your canvases would be to seek some textiles specialists, fabric designers, and seamstresses. The carpenter can help on the backing, but the fabrics community can help with the geometry and folds (or lack thereof) on the canvas part! Perhaps it would involve folding fabrics, but with ways to conceal and smooth the folds to be invisible.
Looking forward to your eventual solution! :)
You need to contact a tailor. It should be simple for them.
There is another YT channel I watch called Baumgartner restoration. Not sure if you’ve seen it. Julian Baumgartner in Chicago, USA does wonderful restorations of old, sometimes heavily damaged paintings and brings them back to life. In his processes, he is always trying to find novel ways to his restoration processes, including having his own woodworking shop when dealing with frame restoration & constructing new stretchers, sometimes with non-rectangular pieces. Maybe you could try reaching out to him for any ideas? In my seeing how he is able to stabilize torn and worn canvases, he might have some suggestions that could be useful. Perhaps even a collaboration with you? Hope you find your solution!
@@AlpayEfe if the thickness of your canvas is an inch and a half and the back of your canvas is another inch and a half, try adding on 3 inches of canvas compared to your frame. Lay down the canvas on the table, put the frame over it and draw around it giving it three extra inches than the size of your frame. once that’s done, cut that out like a pattern for clothing. It’ll be a lot easier to tuck the fabric in without all the extra fabric still hanging from it. And of course, if the side of the of the your canvas is 2 inches and the back is 2 inches then obviously you would put an extra 4 inches of fabric or canvas.
I know how it's done! It's super easy! Just make tiny rectangular shaped canvases and then glue them together, so that the resulting canvas appears to have a rounded shape. Read something about infinitesimal calculus, it will help you!!!!!
(I have another solution, but it involves warping reality...)
It looks like you need the help of a seamstress or someone who does upholstery. Seamstresses have a way of cutting darts into fabric to make it work. Try looking up a video of how to upholster a chair. They usually cut around it and staple it to the back of the wood with a staple gun. I love your paintings by the way. Good luck, I’m pretty sure it can be done.
I agree! The seamstresses and fabrics specialists have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves!
yes, absolutely
Yes people who made chairs and couches..
I second this and I sew professionally. I think this can be done with a little tweak in the method. Although eliminating the fold or crease completely around the concave curves will still be tricky, but I don't think it's impossible. For the optimal result and more efficiency, you might find it easier to adjust the angles of the organic shape. Good luck! As always beautiful work.
Great Artwork, from a humble Artist.
maybe try to work with someone who is knowledgeable in Upholstery (my dad is one).
You definitely can't get around folds around curves when stretching fabric onto it.
The trick would be to make smart choices in where the folds go to be less visible/intrusive to the eye.
This came to mind straight away so it is likely something you've tried: I would seal the finished curved canvas stretchers to protect them from moisture. Then soak unprimed canvas in water. Then carefully stretch the wet canvas over the stretcher form. You could spray it with water to keep wet during stretching. Once it dries you can prime it.
Also talk to upholsterers and people who specialize in fabric wall coverings, like the silk wall coverings popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Best of luck! Love the idea, and special props to your carpenter!!
I tried something like this but this was actually even worse 😂
You could use alumnium composite panels for your support and either paint drectly on to them or glue canvas to them if you must have canvas. They are lighter than wood, come in large sizes and can be cut to whatever shape you want. If you want to wrap the canvas around, they are thin so it would be a lot easier.
I would try talking to a skilled furniture upholsterer. They deal with curves all the time. It is harder with a stiffer material like canvas but they may have some good techniques.
TOTALLY doable!! Yacht furniture makers and upholsterers use canvas (marine-grade canvas like Sailrite and Sunbrella but hey, it's still canvas) all the time.
Let the edges be messy but make them as flat as possible, and add a strip of veneer or something similar on top of it to simply cover up the mess? And/or use plaster to sculpt and smooth it out, and seal the plaster with varnish and gesso to make the surface paintable. It's how I imagine it'd be done, but I've never actually tried it. I feel very inspired to experiment with it now though :P
This is why I thought about too
Ok, so I found the only way I was able to get weird shapes in canvas without many wrinkles, was getting the canvas wet prior to stretching. The only issue was you have to make the wood ridged enough that it's not going to warp once it's wet too. You have to soak the canvas so there's A LOT of water. Plywood works better than solid wood. With solid wood you have to have even pressure and press them to keep them completely flat during the drying time. Since you have a carpenter that helps make the frames for you, they'll understand. I've never done anything terribly big before, so that's slightly new territory.
Wow Alpey... almost 1M Subs😮? I remember when you barely had any Subscribers...
This is insane! Looks like youll be hitting that 1M by summer time... WOW! You are a unstoppable beast machine!🎉
🫶🙏
The shaped canvases I've seen from Takashi Murakami and Tomokazu Matsuyama, for example, all follow this same method - panel and wrapped with canvas. Unless you design the shape of the canvas perfectly, it would be impossible to do without the panel because you can't get the correct cross-tension and it would be rough to paint on. Well done for persisting though mate, looks amazing.
I could swear I’ve seen canvas ones
The reason for traditional shape for paintings is so it can be stretched but can also move with the humidity or dryness of the air. A shaped wood frame does not shrink and contract evenly due to the grain of the wood.
For those odd inside corners, I would take a look at "Box Pleats and Inverted Pleats" in sewing, your would end up being triangular with the point ending at the top edge of the frame. Hopefully you find something that works well for you.
I love that painting and I agree that the irregular canvas absolutely adds to it. I'm a costume designer, upholsterer, and artis who has stretched canvases, so I do know something about working with fabric. You have two problems that can't be altered. Canvas is heavy and it doesn't stretch. Light weight stretchy fabrics can be molded to almost any shape, but you can't paint on it. Relatively loose weave fabrics, like most upholstery fabrics, can be molded, as well, but obviously that wouldn't be appropriate, either. The only way that I can see doing it is to do like you did before, cutting out gores to get rid of the folds and adding slits to go down into the crevasses. Then cover the sides with some sort of tape to smooth it all over. That could be a strip of canvas, some sort of woven fiber braid, strips of heavy paper, but all of those will be a finishing edge, not a blind turned canvas. You will absolutely want to start with plain canvas in the lightest weight that you feel comfortable painting on to minimize the thickness of any extra fabric that lumps up, and the depths of any Vs that you cut out.
As I'm typing this I'm having an idea. Exactly how to do it depends on how relatively smooth you can wrap the first canvas and how absolutely smooth you want the finished edges to be. If it just needs to look neat, you can use layers of cotton muslin. If you want it as sharp as a straight stretched edge, you will need to add a paper liner. I'll start with the paper liner. It sounds like you want something archival, although I'm not sure that is an issue in this case. I would just use craft paper, but my paintings don't sell for thousands. You need something medium weight. Having gaps in the stretched canvas wont be a problem. Having wrinkles will be. You need to either massage the extra materiel in, or pinch it up and cut it off. Get the edge as smooth as possible. Cut strips of paper about 8mm narrower than the side of the canvas. Although, it could be wider if it's easier to work with and you can cut it down on the back side. Glue that over your canvas with whatever white glue type glue you feel comfortable using. It should be something that dries stiff. Place the edge of the paper about 6 or 8 mm from the front edge, or a bit closer if absolutely necessary to barely cover the uneven spots but not on the front edge. Then take strips of cotton muslin and glue them over the paper lapping the front edge out a few millimeters over the paper edge. With each one a bit closer until you reach the edge of the canvas. Try to adhere these to the canvas, if possible. The last one will come right to the corner of the canvas make sure it is glued down smooth. If you are using a water soluble glue (like white glue) soak this last strip in water but blot it dry until it is just damp. That will soften the fabric and make it easier to mold it along that edge. The should give a transition that is smooth enough that several coats of gesso will cover it up. Play around with it. You might be able to get a smooth enough surface with muslin that you wont need the paper underneath. You could even start with a fairly heavy weight muslin for the first layer but probably not as heavy as painting canvas. Good luck!
Your perseverance is paying off. I would have given up and painted directly on a wood panel like I was living in the Renaissance. You are amazing as always.
I like rectangles or even circles more, but they can get really repetitive. I think that a nontraditional canvas like this can be lovely when it makes sense for the piece.
There is a way to do this-you should contact an upholsterer because the construction will need to be in one piece on the front and the 2nd piece will go along the side-similar to a chair cover and pulls over like a slip cover. There will be seam allowance inside but talk to an upholsterer because they can help you! 😀
Love this! The unique shape totally adds to the painting
That’s fire 🔥
I love these custom made shapes and your paintings are very beautiful and delicate! Bravo!
1. SEHR GEIL!!!
2. Polsterer befragen (ein besonders guter möglichst)
3. Gemälderestauratoren befragen (z.B. bezüglich Rondos)
4. Wasserfrei kleben, z.B. mit dem sogenannten Beva-Film (auch dazu Gemälderestauratoren befragen)
5. Beidseitig beschichten
6. Weitermachen! Wie gesagt: Sehr geil!
It's an innovative idea! Make the most out of it, by using the shape to your theme painting narrative. This could have the shape of a jar let's say. Thanks for sharing!!
It's been done many times. One of my favorite artists is Audrey Kawasaki; she paints on wood panels and has had some CNC cut into cool shapes, although she lets the natural wood surface show, which isn't what he's after.
Agreed! I love playing with the conventional canvas to create a new experience, but we artists already have so many rules in making sure our compositions work with the standard square/rectangle... Why would that be any different for an organic shape? For all that effort it should be considered as part of the image itself, not just the surface it's painted upon.
Your philosophy on how to trompe l'oeil is amazing. I made a painting after watching you, and very happy with the result. Good teacher!
For some reason I get the thought of fitted sheets like for your bed. Hear me out the fitted sheets on your bed you want them smooth and stretch tight that's the goal. What is for your canvases you had someone so something like that with the elastic in certain spots you can staple it down on the back without worrying about them being creases on the front. But that way you wouldn't have to worry about the fraying.
I truly don’t think your work needs any help from this idea. Always looks great in plain ol’ rectangle 👏🤩♥️
Hi Alpay, so how invested are you in having that 1inch edge to your canvas?
I think if you were to "sand/shave" down the edges of your frame (while maintaining the thickness of the rest of the frame for strength & support - sort of like the edge of a knife but only shaping the back of the frame edge) it would allow you to more cleanly stretch the canvas over the edge and then hide most of the required pleating on the back.
The compromise would be that you get more of a floating canvas effect once its hung.
Man you always have a good story 😅 👍
😅
to get the flat edges you may need to make the edge longer and conical/graduated inwards. it's a fascinating concept
Maybe you could use something similar to embroidery hoops. Where the material is trapped between two pieces of the hoop, then pulled and tensioned to make the surface tight .
I've seen automotive upholsterers form vinyl and leather around all sorts of shapes using heat but trying to do the same with linen most likely just doesn't work. Anyway, I absolutely love the painting of the lady with the fish - your style is so modern and clean looking. Probably my favourite of everything I've seen lately.
I hope you can solve the canvas wrapping problem before it consumes you 😄 It seems like they need to make a canvas that has a bit of stretch to it so it clings to the edges better. Anyway, this piece turned out beautifully with the organic, pond-like shape.
Very insightful walkthrough of your process! When I did my BFA, I also made irregularly shaped canvas (stretched). Making curved organic shapes was impossible! I ended up making angular shaped stretcher bars and the canvas was easier to stretch over. If I were to go back to making organic, curved shaped canvas, I would have to get GOOD with drafting patterns and sewing darts or strategic pleats to the canvas in order to NOT make the edges horrible.
Couldn’t get it to work for the life of me 😂
I did such canvases myself in around 2008 year. It was fysically very hard to do. My husband helped me. I remember, that I used blank canvas and used water, because it was easyer to strech wet canvas. I was aplying the primer only after streching the canvas.
There is a good reason for the rectangular shape: The Golden Ratio 1.618.
Wish I could get back into painting, work life and owning a home has ruined my motivation and dedication towards it. superb work as always.
What if you stretched the canvas and tacked it on top, instead of wrapping around the sides. You could then have your woodworker make a frame of same shape and use that to cover the tacks/staples.
The LLM in my head comes up with the following: Across a frame or table (rectangle) stretch a canvas face down and taught. Then place your bubble frame on top of it using 'glue'. Depending on how much "shrink" is left in the cotton canvas you may use water or light steam to shrink it tighter? Cut it out and take it from there.
all i could think of is to cut out the exact shape,sew it (or glue it)onto a stretchy fabric that will wrap around the canvas bars and spray it in the back to tighten it. maybe? Prime it after stretched.
You might consider a mix of aluminium composite sheet material such as " Dibond" with a wooden frame support that could provide a lightweight alternative. It is what road signs are made from. It is easy to cut into any shape and is resistant to warping.
It isn't that light - I've glued a canvas on one and it's a lot heavier than just a canvas.
@@Jules_Pew Assuming we are talking about the same thing. Yes it is heavier than just a canvas obviously. However compared to wood there is no comparison. You can also paint directly onto it (using an appropriate primer first of course) without the need for canvas at all.
Square (oblong) canvas is better because that is the standard shape for photography, etc and if you love your art you always take a photo backup. If you want the shape of a giant blob I think your best option is to use a frame of that shape... In order to avoid the frame becoming an extension of the painting, I would imagine that plain white works best.
A Furniture upholsterer would be stretching fabric over unusual shapes. I think you have to embrace the folds on the side of the canvas as a unique aspect of this kind of canvas. Maybe approaching from almost a fashion sensibility or incorporating the folds into the painting. The painting you ended up with feels like it benefits from the shape of the canvas because it feels like a thought bubble for a daydream she’s having.
Ok… can I give you a totally out there idea? Investigate Fiberglass. It can be impregnated into a fabric substrate. But the thing about it is that while it’s being worked, it’s mailable but then it cures rigid. You can leave the surface as a rough canvas and treat it with gesso or it can be totally smooth. Reach out to people that are making kayaks and other boats. Also, find people that are making ultralight planes. They craft their own airplane parts and may be using materials you haven’t thought of like carbon fiber. You might have to go with inorganic materials to get the organic feel you’re looking for.
I like your non squared art !
With paper it’s so much easier to change shape (for watercolor).
Can’t you prime a panel and not use the cotton ?
Or could you use the same material used for cast (for a Brocken leg) ? It’s possible to make so many shapes with this plaster.
Just brainstorming.
Love your work. Always happy to see a new video.
Happy new year.
Would Julian Baumgartner of Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration and Conservation be able to help? He has a RUclips channel and he has done curved stretching for some of his restorations. Maybe he could give you some tips.
Stretching that is like upholstery or wallpaper.
It's different for a painting though because you want an even stretch all over.
Have you thought about using an aluminum composite panel? They’re significantly lighter than wood panels and could offer a smoother, more durable surface for your project. I’m sure they’re more expensive, but perhaps a manufacturer might be willing to provide one, given the opportunity to showcase the potential of that material for irregularly shaped paintings. Just a thought! Anyway, I absolutely love this idea and can’t wait to see where you take it!
I came here to say the same thing. Aluminum composite or maybe even pvc. I have experience with both from working in the sign industry and they are much lighter than wood
I think there would be warping issues with panels at the size he wants.
Given my limited sewing experience, I'd say to cover this shape smothly you'd need something really strechy, but I don't know if that would be a good surface to paint on. Maybe use strechy fabric as lining to cover everything, and attach canvas that is just the shape of the frame, so you'd have a regular canvas with strechy edges.
Also I think talking to an upholsterer might help you, as they are used to covering weird shapes in fabric.
A circle? Most organic geometric shape. Your painting is beautiful
This looks greats, no where near a let down
@@malakaithedemigod thanks 🙏🫶
I love that you are striving to do something quite novel still. So many would achieve your level and then simply crank out volumes of the same thing to make money, completely missing the wonder of art that is creative and inventive.
I like the other comment that suggested working with a seamstress or taylor: someone really well versed in how to take a grid form (ie warp and weft of your canvas weave) and stretch this over a complex form without creases. Another idea is to explore working with bent wood as an edging or shadow box to cover up your edge folds. (Meaning, have the top surface crease-free and have minimal folds on the very edge. The bent wood appliqué edging would cover these folds to hide them. You could even have carving or painting of this wood edging to match with the main subject on the canvas. This could give the option of matching smoothly and seamlessly from canvas front surface and wrapping around to the wall in an elegant way. Or you could play up the difference in material between the canvas and wood edging to have both in context with each other. Being able to deliver a message in two parts of the one whole piece might even help improve your depth in delivering your artistic message for any given piece.)
I'm a visual artist as well as working in wood, all whilst working full time as an engineer. Let me know if you would like to collaborate, as this is my kind of "create a new box" kind of problem to solve. Cheers
Actually, I just solved how to do the curved and seamless look. Contact me so that we can explore it and refine it to meet your vision.
Alupanel is an aluminum composite product for the signmaking industry. It's thin, painted aluminum on both sides with a plastic/rubber layer in between. It doesn't warp and is very stable and durable. The shiny painted surface could be sanded and painted over. It's also fairly easy to cut with a jigsaw/metal blade and it can be had in large sheets, usually from a sign shop.
From my point of view (I'm a figurines painter) don't use wood, use a thin board of plastic and don't put canvas on it. I saw a few painters trying this. The advantages is that plastic don't move with humidity and will last thousands of years. You just need to put a layer of acrylic primer on it and you can then paint directly on it. Another option is to use a custom canvas that is weaved to the shape of the wood, a bit like a sock.
I have an idea of creating square canvas frame even bigger than complex-shaped canvas frame. Then stretch canvas over it. And glue complex-shaped canvas frame on stretched canvas fabric. Wait until the glue hardens. And cut the shape
Difficulties you may encounter along the way:
- Create a square frame without any crossbars in the middle
- Find glue good enough to hold the canvas stretched
But all difficulties seem solvable
Also, I follow a British tonalist painter named Stuart Davies, and he paints directly on wood. He gets sheets of about 1/2" to 1" plywood, sands it, primes and sands 2 to 3 times, then paints directly on the wood.
I'm no expert🙃) but if I were you I would cut the fabric to the same shape and size as the wooden base and then add an inner frame that takes up a little of the front space to cover the staple marks🧩🤔, or an outer frame around the wooden base that is pressed towards the base to tighten the fabric, such as an embroidery hoop🪡🧶, Try using an iron to make the process easier or even follow how gifts are wrapped🎁, I hope you find a way to implement your ideas🪄✨, Good luck👍😁
MDF and contact cement with one of those rubber pressure rollers is how I'd go for it. Contact cement would go on both surfaces to be joined, and you wait until it's almost dry but still tacky. Then when both parts are pressed together they form a practically permanent bind. Applied even, go over with the pressure roller, that's never coming apart. Thus a possible plan would be to bind the canvas onto a fiberboard that's thinner than the usual wood and go from there. Also back the MDF with some kind of framing to keep it from flexing too much. There's likely some videos on upholstery or similar that will show how to do fabric applique on panels like that. You can also get that contact cement in spray adhesive form too, in order to make things easier/quicker when using it on large surfaces.
Alternately if you're still trying to stretch canvas onto an irregular frame - use steam. However you'd have to be careful about a wooden frame because it would take up the moisture. But that gives a lot more potential with conforming a fabric than stretching without steaming it. Again, crossing into the domain of how some things may be done with upholstery would show how such is done.
I feel like the issue of the fabric with the folds could be patched with pattern drafting techniques. Such as darts. However, the best was to make a wood canvas.
Lovely to see you go back to your art videos
Always inspirational.
Wonderful work video aswell painting. Smile and keep up the good work !!
As a seamstress, cutting darts will be your friend and using many staples. Go seek out an upholstery business and maybe some who specializes in corsets as they have many curves in them. Love the concept and good luck on perfecting this new canvas.
I like the odd shape. But it would require the right setting. Continue to be creative. All is necessary ❤
To prevent the warping you need to do the same thing to both sides. If you glue canvas to one side, glue it to the other side too.
Think of the curved frame as being composed of hundreds of rectangular pieces - a curve composed of straight lines. Accordingly, cut (almost) perpendicular lines into the edge of your canvas, creating rectangular flaps around the painting area. Attach these rectangular flaps to the side of the frame. (If you imagine this for the simplest shape, a circle, you will need a circle surrounded by rectangles, which means cutting off acute triangles from the edge, instead of simply cutting perpendicular lines into the fabric.)
Great work Alpay! Have you thought of only having a wood panel with the shape you have in mind? I mean without the stretcher bar.
I would study how they stretch and put canvas on circle canvases. The process is exactly the same for unique shapes. They snip some areas and first stretch the main 4 sides and work each midsection.
Ohhh a differently shaped canvas! Excited to see what you do with it
3d nitting of the canvas directly?
I like that idea! Something like felt making.
Bob Ross used to do circular and oval paintings. Granted, he used a cut out over a canvas, but it was still not square or rectangular.
Loved your video. Maybe you could contact a furniture upholsterer as they are able to manipulate thick fabric around odd shapes with furniture?? Good luck on your quest to find an answer.
Have you spoken to a upolsterer? they must deal with wrapping fabric around weird shapes all the time.
These kinda look like huge fine art stickers. I love em.
@@theomcpherson7960 I went to just one but she couldn’t make it work 😅
Start with a larger square or rectangle frame and sketch your canvas to that. Then lay it on its face and place your oddly shaped frame with glue on its face flat down on it until its dried. Remove the square frame and fold the rest over. You’ll deal with creases on the edges but the face will be flat and ready to paint on.
Have you tried working with someone in the garment industry? I am thinking of the countless runways I've watched with fabric stretched over a hard base, without a seam, rough cut, or wrinkle. Just a thought. Interesting concept with your canvas! I like it!
It is a thought provoking concept and complex (you'll need some wood and fabric wizards). It must be a pain to transport them. My brain is taking time to adjust to the shape in the wall, there is something familiar about it and weird in a good way. I'm used to street artists using different/more rounded objects as a base (like skate boards for example), but it always has an urban feel to it. But the softness of your paintings, in those shapes its... for me, is like bringing the online offline. The amount of masks ive made with blobs/vector shapes on websites... I know that is not the intent, and art is subjective. But it did made me thing of those things. And I agree with you, that organic canvas fabric looked awful in the sides. Hope you'll figure it out, can't wait to see the 2.0 version of this canvas. It would be a great journey to see.
Can't remember their name but there's that artist that does dripping shaped works, they have custom frames that follow the drips. They probably work small scale on boards though. Have you thought about approaching a dress maker? They could potentially get super clean, tight seams that you could use wall filler over and sand smooth?
I went to an upholstery but she couldn’t make it work because the canvas fabric is not elastic enough
Take a look at aluminum panels and Gator board for oil painting. Light weight, cut to any shape, and won't warp. There are a few videos on YT of people using both of these surfaces.
I’ve done cutouts with HDF sheets. They’re heavy, you got to use good hardware for hanging but you just use a roto-zip and make any shape you want. One side is covered in a smooth thick paper ready for gesso and the HDF not MDF is best against moisture. It doesn’t have a canvas tooth but rough sanding a gesso finish can give you a watercolor paper feel.
Well, no 2m canvas with that though 😅
Wunderschönes Gemälde! 👏👏
I[m afraid there will be stitching involved. When I have upholstered bedheads for fancy beds, I often had to make a seam shaped like the piece so that if you think of a shaped duvet cover going over a shaped duvet, you would need it doubled, then you would make the outline shape then slip it over by cutting through the middle of one side then pulling it tight and stapling it down, then cutting away the back half. That is the only thing i can think of. You will probably have to taper your shape somewhat to allow for stretching where you have bends but it can be done very deftly with pulling and stapling. The trouble with acute and obtuse angles is that obviously there is a lack of fabric or a massive excess of it. the only possible way to allow for this is to have two sides made to measure and stretch the 'short' side to take up the slack.
Upholstery is different because on a painting you want the threads to have an even stretch on the whole surface. Cutting slots to wrap a curve is well known, but even then the canvas would be tighter on the edges than in the middle. I wouldn't mind, but our boy here is after perfection.
It should be possible. Non square and rectangular shaped canvas is getting quite popular here in Indonesia and I've seen some artists doing some complicated shapes and they managed to stretch it neatly. Now I have not look into doing it myself nor have I watched any of these artists doing it, so I can't really give any input. But it is possible.
Alpay, I have one idea inspired from when I was an Interior Design intern at a place that made custom yacht furniture (with pieces that are usually curved). When we would cut out fabrics (often canvas or canvas-like material), we would either cut 1-2" (2.54-5.08cm) wider than the pattern as a "seam allowance" and wrap around with consistently cut clippings or notches that allow you to wrap it around the shape without a bunch of extra canvas bulk or puckering. In your case, this would be the canvas shape + depth. There are a few ways to finish the edge after doing this. I would suggest using a strip of bias tape to overlay and wrap around the entire finished edge, as it's ideal for using on curved surfaces for a nice, clean look.
Or you could get extra fancy and sew some piping along the seam. 😉
Upholstery is different because on a painting you want the threads to have an even stretch on the whole surface. Seam allowance is well known, but even then the canvas would be tighter on the edges than in the middle. I wouldn't mind, but our boy here is after perfection.
@@nathanchildress5596 I understand that traditional upholstery is different than painter's linen or canvas, Nathan. I'm also a fine artist. What I described involves tightening exactly the same as having a "seam allowance" for wrapping a traditional canvas. The only difference would be the notching and clipping before stretching to accommodate the curves. It still needs stapling, hence adding a nice canvas overlay to cover them and finishing/sanding for a soft, streamlined finish.
@@krissyvanous Sorry to offend, I wasn't trying to imply that you're ignorant. It seems like he was doing that though, he showed a notch cut to wrap the curve, but he still wasn't satisfied with it. My suggestion was to use fiber board which doesn't expand like natural wood, then add texture to the gesso to imitate canvas, but I could be wrong too.
@@nathanchildress5596 2:55 minutes in, the canvas clearly has way too much excess. This is fine when stretching a traditional painting, but it becomes near impossible to make clean notches and clippings that lay flat with that much fabric on a curved surface. It needs to be cut to the same shape but with just enough allowance for wrapping cleanly.
Fiberboard like MDF, HDF, particle board and plywood, are often heavy and prone to warping, especially as a larger piece; two things Alpay said he wanted to avoid. The stuff is also not moisture friendly unless you're using a specific moisture-resistant grade variant (heavy!), so any water-based gesso, paint or glue would need to be avoided. I learned this the hard way.
@@krissyvanous I've used fiber board before; you can get it in pretty thin sheets, and if you brace the edges and apply gesso in multiple thinner coats you won't run into the warping issue, since that comes from over saturation. After you build up the gesso it holds up pretty well, I've even done xerox transfers with pretty good results.
Beautiful work 🙂
Fleece stretched over the frame, then a thin coat of fiberglass resin. Prime, sand, prime. Or an aluminum sign making substrate.
LOL- I have been working out the issues you are dealing with... about 5 years ago- I figured it out. I am in love with my panels now... Keep trying. At some point you will figure out how impressive perfecting your craft can be. Hopefully you will get more acknowledgement than I do for it. 20-30-40K??? I need to get into that market...
One idea not already mentioned , Vacuum sealing using large double sided adhesive sheets ? Good Luck on your quest and please let us have an update as you venture forth ! Also, love the concept and those paintings were standouts !
My thought is that if you can't eliminate creases, own them. Purposeful folds done at 90 degrees in the inside angles where the curves meet shouldn't take away from the aesthetic. after all, rectangular canvases have folds at the corners :)
This painting is very beautiful. I feel like you are very good at drawing girls, and I really want to see you draw handsome boys.❤
Early in the video as you were describing your goal I instantly thought talking with an upholsterer would help you get to your goal.
Also, and you likely know this already, but cotton duck is more flexible than linen.
You probably already tried this, but my instinct would be to wrap a strip of canvas around the edge after stretching the canvas to cover where the folds are. Maybe fold the strip so you don't have a cut edge meeting the painting surface. I feel like you could get a really smooth, even edge and with enough primer and sanding it might not even be visible.
I have, looks kinda cheap and unprofessional 😅
U might hate it bus rlly man, just use a wood panel or a steel panel, like copper or something shiny
Noooo 😭
Another idea. An unprimed canvas that stretches a lot before priming.
Are you going to have a painting tutorial for sale?
In the future yes!
Awesome brother. You are my favorite artist and will purchase that program. When do you think you will launch that?
I’m going to sign up to your Patreon.
i love these canvses! i have a couple ideas-
there might be processes that can possibly do this like plasticizers and you probably know some tricks already but maybe things like softeners, fabric softeners, etc.
the fashion industry has software for this particular thing- like clo3d for pattern making. maybe something like this would help automate the shape of the canvas and then you could cut it out and install easier.
finally, are there not other types of canvas material that could work? i'm not particularly familiar to the painting industry so i don't know. it would be interesting if there was canvas that also had lycra or something to make it stretchy, like stretchy jeans.
SWL painters board, or some similar "Sandwichmaterial" comes to mind. Lightweight and warpfree.
I understand why you want to do this... you've grown and accomplished so much as an artist, you need a new challenge now - it's why artists are like explorers. Even painting wonderfully gets boring after a while if you don't feel like you're challenging yourself and moving forwards somehow.
One idea: how about painting on a canvas stretched the normal way with the goal shape drawn on it, then when it's dry and more rigid than a fresh canvas, glue it to the organic frame afterwards, trimming away the excess canvas. You could paint outside the lines enough that lining it up on the new frame wouldn't be too much of a nightmare (hopefully). The frame would need a flat surface around the edge big enough for the adhesive to work effectively, but would surely be much lighter than a complete panel. It'd still be tricky, but maybe worth considering?
Have you considered using plastic covered foam sandwich material that is normally used for commercial prints? It might solve the issue with the weight and should not warp from moisture (but i thought lightweight plywoods that could do the same also exist)?
What an interesting idea. At first, I thought the big painting had the shape of an apple with a bite mark on the right side, but then I saw that it was more abstract. If you want to go bigger with this, you might consider abandoning the idea of using wood - which has all the issues you mentioned - and maybe go for a carbon fiber frame that has the shape you want, possible with lots of crossing supports to remain stiff while the painting has a reasonable weight.
Beautiful
Nice ❤🎉😮
I’d even talk to someone who does upholstery for tips on stretching the canvas around complex turns and edges with better results. They may have ideas on the frame to keep it lightweight but sturdy.
Amazing 🤩 ❤