42x42 3D Pro Mandalay Canvas 2-1/2" #DMA-4242

True 1:1 Square Proportion - 42x42 Size

Square sizes are very popular, and this 42x42 size is not as common, but it is a nice mid-range size.

The square is perhaps the most intriguing proportion, as it is root of all of the other proportions. It is commonly used in both photography and art. Squares are typically used as the center canvas of a triptych or as a single canvas hung at a 45° angle. The square proportion is long used with medium format professional cameras, and most photographs we see on websites and social media are based on square images. Since all sides of the canvas are the same length, your eye is drawn evenly across the surface of the painting creating a sense of harmony, balance, and a generally a pleasing visual experience. The square format is also a good choice for artists who focus on geometric shapes or patterns in their work, as the regularity of the square shape can help reinforce these elements. Some artists enjoy the challenge of working within the confines of a square format, as it forces them to think creatively resulting in intriguing compositions.

Explore other sizes in this same 1:1 aspect ratio:

6x6 • 7x7 • 8x8 • 9x9 • 10x10 • 12x12 • 14x14 • 16x16 • 18x18 • 20x20 • 22x22 • 24x24 • 30x30 • 32x32 • 34x34 • 36x36 • 40x40 • 48x48 • 54x54 • 60x60 • 72x72

Explore Related Products to this 42x42 Size:

• Raw Unprimed Linen: Torrey Pines™
• Raw Unprimed Cotton: Raw No 12 • Raw No 8 • Raw No 10
• Acrylic / Oil Primed Linen: Muir™ • Vintage L22U™ • Santa Cruz™ • Saint-Cloud™ • Grenoble™ • Pau™ • Malibu™ • Vintage L21C™ • Ventura™ • Versailles™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Tahoe™ • Heavy Weight 14oz cotton • Sierra™

Raw Mandalay™ Belgian Linen 11.6 oz Unprimed

Very heavy weight linen and very tightly woven. Take control of your art by preparing your own ground on Belgian Linen canvas. Use bare expanses of canvas as part of the painting or simply create the ground exactly ask you like.

• 100% Belgian Linen 11.6 oz. per square yard
• Very Heavy Weight, Tight Weave, Coarse Texture
• Raw fabric blocks 95% of the light, which indicates how tight is the weave
• Warp and Weft: 31x33 yarns per square inch
• Linen has natural oils that prevent disintegration over time.

3D™ Pro 2.5 Stretcher Bar • 1/2" Canvas Clearance

1/2" Canvas Clearance 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.

• Produces a 2.5" deep stretched canvas (Actual depth is slightly thinner)
• 1.25" wide Stretcher Bar
• 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

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.

42x42 2.5" Deep Edge Heavy Frame Offers Maximum Support!

• Drawing depicts the exact frame construction, not the proportion
• 2.5" Deep Edge K2 Heavy Stretcher Bars are precision machined with a unique double tongue-and-groove corner joint that provides rock-solid torsional rigidity that resists warping or twisting, which is an important benefit for such a deep edge canvas
• One super strong 3/4" thick keyable brace and one cross brace (all 3.25" wide) provide the maximum possible support for this 42x42 frame; Cross Braces are permanently installed in the frame, but canvas tension may be increased by tapping-in the keys or wedges that slightly expand the size of the frame
• The Stretcher Bars have an proprietary utility groove on the inside perimeter of the frame which is used to attach braces and other optional frame supports
• The Masterpiece braces feature an exclusive system that allows you to increase the tension to the middle of the frame, where the tension is needed the most; it's so unique it earned us a patent
• Our state-of-the-art cross braces attach the ends of the cross braces into the (grooved) sides of the braces, which creates a superior and robust system of interlocking cross braces
• To increase canvas tension: 1) remove any staples in the corners and those that retain the brace keys in the middle, 2) tap all of the expansion keys further into their respective slots, 3) tighten and re-staple the canvas in the corners

Canvas Tension is in Your Control

In dry climates or air conditioned environments, the lack of moisture in the air causes wood frames to shrink and the canvas fibers to narrow and elongate making the canvas more slack and resulting in a loss of canvas tension. In some instances, the canvas could have waves on the surface resulting in an unsightly viewing experience.

Our 3D™ Pro 2.5 professional frames provide the functionality for you to slightly expand the size of the frame in the corners and the middle of the canvas, thereby increasing canvas tension all across the surface. The difference between a loose canvas and a tight canvas is just 1/8" of an inch, so a small adjustment using our corner and brace keys makes an important difference in canvas tension.

• Helps to prevent waves that occur in a loose canvas
• Increase canvas tension by tapping-in the corner and brace keys
• True professional class canvases make it possible for you to adjust the canvas tension

Cross Braces Make it Tighter

A tightly stretched canvas on an un-braced frame overpowers the Stretcher Bars causing them to bow inward and thereby lose tension. Sometimes that bow can expose a space in picture frames.

When a canvas is stretched on a properly supported frame, the cross-braces prevent the Bars from bowing thereby achieving maximum canvas tension. To increase the canvas tension even more, simply tap the corner and brace keys further in their slots. Properly supported frames provide you with the control over the canvas tension of your canvas and painting.

Sustainability is about Reducing Deforestation

Choosing products made with sustainably sourced lumber is an important way for consumers to make a positive impact on the environment. By supporting sustainable forestry practices, we can help to reduce deforestation, promote biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. It's a simple and effective way to make a difference.

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.

MuseumWrap™ Stretching Technique

With more than a half a century of American engineering, Masterpiece® designs and builds its own proprietary stretching equipment that enables us to produce the finest and most tightly-stretched canvas on the market.

• Drum-tight stretch!
• Up to 50% tighter than other methods
• Balanced tension across the surface
• Uncut folded corners make it possible to remove and re-stretch canvas on the same size frame
• Usually the corner folds are on the long sides

Oversize Box

This item is classified by UPS and Fedex as oversized, which might incur slightly higher shipping charges. To mitigate the shipping cost, we recommend ordering in quantities of 2 or 4 or more, and it travels safer too.

Simply touch one of these impressive canvases and the quality of our materials, workmanship, and design will be immediately obvious to you, and to those who will ultimately acquire your art. The canvas you select becomes the foundation of your painting. Your reputation depends upon the quality of your artwork and the integrity of your material choices. Savvy art buyers and art enthusiasts place a higher value on artwork made with quality materials because they expect their investment in your art will last hundreds, if not a thousand years. Using quality paints and a well-made canvas is an investment in your legacy and your brand.

Drawing is not what one sees but what one can make others see. ♦ Edgar Degas

The words of Edgar Degas, a luminary in the world of art, offer an intriguing perspective on the nature of creativity. Degas, renowned for his captivating depictions of dancers, possessed an uncanny ability to transform everyday scenes into masterpieces brimming with emotion. This wasn't just the mere act of reproduction but a distillation of reality, molded by the artist's unique vision.

Every artist knows that the process of creation is not simply about capturing the external world. It's about interpreting, processing, and ultimately, presenting a vision that might otherwise remain unseen. The challenge lies not just in observing the world, but in translating those observations in ways that allow our audience to see through our eyes, to experience our emotions, and to be transported to the worlds we create.

We, wielding our brushes, pencils, or tools of choice, are not just recorders of reality but architects of perception. Our art becomes a bridge between the seen and the unseen, beckoning viewers to step into our world, if only for a moment, and see the magic we've unveiled.

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The spirit of artistry is inspiration and creation. We too are inspired by the wisdom of this quote and hope you are inspired by our interpretation thereof, as well as this inimitable portrait we created of Edgar Degas. Go create!