88 Inch Elite B2 Single Stretcher Bar 1-1/2" Deep #B2-88

Elite™ Professional 1.5" Deep B2 Bar • 1/2" Canvas Clearance

A Canvas Clearance of 1/2" is the space between the Bar and the canvas. Generally speaking, more clearance reduces the risk of the canvas touching the wood and creating unsightly lines during painting. Our design provides the optimal clearance so as not to impact your painting, but still leaving enough wood to the maximize strength of the Stretcher Bar.

Solid Wood is Archival - Finger Jointed Wood is Not

We only use Solid Wood to build our Stretcher Bars because a solid piece of wood will last indefinitely. When we speak of archival value, it's not just the paint you use and the quality of your canvas and ground, even the wood choices manufacturers make are part of the archival process.

The principal reason manufactures use finger jointed wood is reduce cost, not increase archival value. Wood constantly grows and shrinks when the environment becomes hotter, or colder, or more humid, or more dry. Because finger jointed wood is made-up of multiple and varied pieces of wood, with varying grain patterns and densities, they each absorb and shed moisture at varying rates, which works on the glue joints that hold them together, causing the wood to bow and the joints to eventually fail, and certainly not consistent with increasing the archival value of your artwork frame support.

As a manufacturer, we do our part to conserve as much wood as possible, and still provide a quality made product that will out-perform any other in the marketplace.

Sustainably Managed Forests Inhale and Exhale

The world's forests are essential to human survival. Forests inhale carbon dioxide for the earth, and exhale oxygen essential for life. When we speak of the sustainable forest strategy of ensuring that more timber will exist in the same forest land than exists today, this is the only viable plan for the future of humanity. For this reason, we use only lumber from the sustainable forests of Oregon, Washington, and California, where there’s more standing timber today than last century!

Canvas Size Needed for this Stretcher Bar

Most artists will stretch the canvas and attach the staples or tacks onto the back side of the frame. Doing so allows you to paint on the edge and hang your art without needed a picture frame. Generally speaking, you should allow 6 Inches of canvas beyond the size of your frame.

For example, if you were to stretch a 72x88 frame size, which happens to be a custom proportion, your canvas should be about 78 x 94. This allows you ample room to stretch and attach the canvas on the back. Should you ever need to remove the canvas from the frame and re-attach it, it still serves that purpose too. Should you want to attach the canvas from the edge of the stretcher frame, then you can reduce the size of your canvas about 3/4" all the way around the frame.

Rooted in California and flourishing since 1965, Masterpiece® takes pride in its family-led legacy of crafting North America's premier Stretcher Bars. Our quest for excellence isn't just a goal but a commitment, positioning us as the trailblazers in the domain of fine-art canvas. Our innovative patents have set new benchmarks, ensuring our offerings stand unmatched. Dive into the tactile experience of our products, and you'll instantly recognize the distinct Masterpiece® quality, a signature appreciated by both your clientele and future art connoisseurs.

The creation of a painting takes as much trickery and premeditation as the commitment of a crime. ♦ Edgar Degas

In the intricate tapestry of Edgar Degas' life, his perspective on art was one characterized by intense deliberation and intricate detail. Known for his enigmatic depictions of Parisian life, particularly of ballet dancers, Degas was not merely a passive observer but a shrewd strategist in his approach to art. His assertion that painting requires trickery and premeditation might sound dramatic, but it sheds light on the meticulous planning and cunning that goes behind each masterful stroke on canvas.

Just as a crime requires an intricate plan, foresight, and the ability to anticipate outcomes, the process of creating art is seldom spontaneous. We, as artists, continually strategize, envisioning the final piece even before the first brush stroke touches the canvas. Every color, shadow, and texture is a calculated move, reflecting our intentions, emotions, and the message we wish to convey. While the canvas might be our playground, it is also the scene where our deepest thoughts and emotions play out, requiring both vulnerability and strategy. In this dance between planning and passion, our artistry truly comes alive, reminding us that genius often lies in the interplay of intuition and intention.

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Draw inspiration from the words of wisdom by Edgar Degas, plus our interpretation of its meaning, along with our own rendered portrait of Edgar Degas. Now get busy on your own canvas!