18x42 Elite Professional 1.5" Deep B2 Stretcher Frame Kit

True 7:3 Extended Domino Proportion - 18x42 Size

This 18x42 is a unique Masterpiece size and 7:3 Extended Domino aspect ratio.

The 7:3 aspect ratio brings a bold and dramatic horizontal stretch, perfect for wide compositions that need to feel expansive and open. This format pulls the eye across the canvas, making it ideal for landscapes, cityscapes, or any scene where horizontal flow is essential. The narrow vertical space adds a layer of complexity, requiring careful use of vertical elements to maintain balance without overwhelming the composition.

There’s a natural tension in this ratio. The wide format invites exploration of the edges, creating a sense of openness, while the limited height keeps the scene intimate and controlled. It’s a format that encourages you to emphasize sweeping gestures, long vistas, or minimalist abstractions. It's great for conveying motion, distance, or the vastness of a scene, all within a strikingly sleek frame.

Explore other sizes in this same 7:3 aspect ratio:

12x28 • 15x35 • 21x49 • 24x56 • 27x63 • 30x70 • 33x77 • 36x84 • 39x91 • 42x98 • 45x105 • 48x112 • 51x119

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.

No Finger Joints!

Solid Wood is far superior to finger jointed wood, which is many small pieces glued together, each with varying grain densities that absorb and shed moisture at varying rates, expanding and contracting non-uniformly as environmental conditions change, and causing the wood to bow and the finger joints to eventually fail.

A single homogeneous kiln-dried solid wood Stretcher Bar outperforms and outlasts a finger jointed Bar whose sole purpose is to save the manufacturer cost, not contribute to the archival value of artwork intended to last a millennium. As a manufacturer, Masterpiece® does its part to conserve as much wood as possible, and still provide a quality product that will out-perform any other in the marketplace.

• Super strong Elite™ B2™ Stretcher Bar is 50% stronger than most others in its class
• For this 18x42 large size frame, the frame provides the ultimate foundation for your art with increased strength and stability
• Produces a 1.5" deep stretched canvas
• 2-1/4" wide Stretcher Bars
• All Bars have an exclusive groove on the inside perimeter of the frame to which cross braces and Diamond Corner Braces attach
• Solid Ponderosa Pine or Fir from the Pacific Northwest

Sustainable Forests for Future Generations

Sustainable forestry practices go beyond just planting and harvesting trees. They also involve careful planning, monitoring, and management to ensure the long-term health and productivity of the forest. By using lumber from sustainably managed forests, we can support these important practices and help to ensure that our planet's forests remain healthy and productive for generations to come.

Specially Dried and Heat Treated Lumber

Our wood is handpicked from a curated group of environmentally responsible lumber mills in the Pacific Northwest. By adhering to our precise drying and heat-treatment standards, these mills produce lumber with nearly half the moisture you'd find in common home improvement outlets or lumber yards. This meticulous process not only enhances the wood's strength—minimizing risks of cracks, splits, or bends—but also elevates its dimensional stability. Such quality, despite its premium, is paramount in creating professional canvases designed to uphold the sanctity of your cherished art throughout the years.

24x48 is the Canvas Size Needed for this 18x42 Frame

Please note that you will need a canvas that is at least 6 Inches larger than the actual frame size to ensure proper stretching. This will provide ample material to stretch the canvas and attach it to the back of the frame. If you prefer to attach the canvas from the edge of the stretcher frame, you can reduce the size of your canvas by approximately 3/4" all the way around the frame. This will allow you to paint on the edge of the canvas and hang your artwork without needing a separate picture frame. And, if you ever need to remove the canvas from the frame and re-attach it, you'll have enough material to do that too.

From the heart of California, Masterpiece® has been weaving a legacy since 1965, curating the best Stretcher Bars North America has witnessed. Our unwavering dedication to quality and innovation has cast us in the limelight as the trendsetting stalwarts in the realm of fine-art canvases. The patents we hold are not just certificates but validations of our pursuit of perfection. Engage with our creations and feel the promise of unmatched quality, a promise that resonates with your clients and every future beholder of your masterpiece.

Simplicity is the greatest adornment of art. ♦ Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer, the celebrated Renaissance artist, was not merely a master of detail but an advocate for the pure, the unembellished, the elemental. Dürer's observation offers profound insights into the core of artistic expression. In an era characterized by intricate designs and lavish displays, he recognized the magnetic pull of simplicity.

At its core, art is about communication, about bridging the chasm between the artist and the observer. The more cluttered or complex a piece becomes, the more challenging this communication can be. For artists, embracing simplicity often means stripping away the unnecessary, refining ideas to their most potent form. It is a courageous act, demanding vulnerability and honesty. As we dive into our creations, let us remember Dürer's words, for in the pursuit of simplicity, we often unearth our most genuine, powerful expressions. It is through this purity that we, too, can touch the souls of those who experience our work.

---

We love fanning the flames of your artistic passion. Immerse yourself in the wisdom of this intriguing quote and context, and enjoy our own unique creation of this portrait of Albrecht Dürer. Paint your heart out!