38x97 Elite Professional 1.5" Deep B2 Stretcher Frame Kit

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 38x97 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

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!

Specially Dried and Heat Treated Lumber

We source our wood from a select group of top-tier environmentally conscious lumber mills in the Pacific Northwest. These mills specially dry and heat-treat the lumber to our specifications, resulting in about half the moisture content compared to wood from typical home improvement centers or lumber yards. This process makes the wood stronger, reducing the likelihood of cracking, splitting, or warping. While the wood we use comes at a higher cost, it ensures a more dimensionally stable end product. This stability is crucial for crafting fine professional canvases that support your invaluable art over time.

44x103 is the Canvas Size Needed for this 38x97 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.

With deep family ties and a legacy spanning since 1965 in California, Masterpiece® has been the epitome of unmatched quality in Stretcher Bars across North America. Our commitment to pioneering excellence has crowned us as the forerunners in the world of professional fine-art canvases. Bolstered by our patented innovations, our products exude a caliber that's in a league of its own. One touch, and the unparalleled quality becomes palpable, leaving an indelible impression on your clients and all future admirers of your art.

It is all very well to copy what one sees, but it is far better to draw what one now only sees in one's memory. That is a transformation in which imagination collaborates with memory. ♦ Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas, a mastermind of Impressionism, had a keen ability to capture the ephemeral moments of life, from the delicate posture of a ballerina to the hushed ambiance of a Parisian cafe. His words emphasize the value of not just artistic replication, but the importance of internalizing and reimaging what we've witnessed. While many can reproduce what is directly in front of them, it's the melding of memory and imagination that births originality.

As artists, we often stand before our canvas with brushes poised, contemplating how best to convey the world around us. The sheer act of painting from memory ignites a dance between the vivid recollections of past experiences and the whims of our imagination. This dance is what Degas championed. In navigating this interplay, we're given a gift—the gift to reinterpret and give voice to memories in ways that a mere imitation cannot achieve.

In the art we create, the blend of remembrance and creativity adds layers of depth and emotion. It becomes a personal journal, capturing not just the world as it was, but as we felt and imagined it. This synergy, a collaboration between what was seen and what was felt, produces artworks that resonate on a profound level. And therein lies the essence of our craft: to go beyond mere depiction and dive into the transformative realms of memory and imagination.

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We believe in the power of words to inspire, and the magic of art to connect. Enjoy this meaningful quote with contextual background, and admire our unique rendition of Edgar Degas to complement your imagination. Get busy on your next composition!