42x42 3D Pro Raw No 12 Canvas 2-1/2" #DR-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 • 92x92

Explore Related Products to this 42x42 Size:

• Raw Unprimed Cotton: Raw No 10 • Raw No 8
• Raw Unprimed Linen: Torrey Pines™ • Mandalay™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Tahoe™ • Heavy Weight 14oz cotton • Sierra™

Raw #12 Cotton 11.5 oz Unprimed

Rugged heavy weight unprimed canvas. Take control of your art, prepare your own ground, or use bare canvas expanses as part of the art. Great for staining or pouring, resulting in a fluid and spontaneous convergence of the image and fabric.

• 100% Cotton 11.5 oz. per square yard
• Heavy Weight, Dense Weave, Texture

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.

Selective Harvesting in our Sustainable Forests

Intelligent selective harvesting of timber is an ecological method to replace the natural occurrences of forest fires and disease and landslides that can devastate forests. This is all part of the process of sustainable forest management to which we subscribe when we choose which lumber we use in our products.

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.

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.

The canvas you select becomes the foundation of your painting and will forever be, so choose your substrates wisely. 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 be a lasting testament to your brand and legacy.

What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence. ♦ Claude Monet

Behind the delicate brushstrokes and dappled light of Claude Monet's masterpieces lies a depth of emotion and a profound connection to the world around him. Often, when we think of the Impressionist movement, images of serene lily ponds and vibrant poppy fields come to mind. However, beyond the obvious beauty of these scenes, Monet's works are a testament to the subtleties and nuances of life, the silent moments filled with color and emotion that often go unnoticed.

In the bustling world of art, where voices clamor for attention and boldness is often equated with impact, Monet's sentiment is a gentle reminder of the power of subtlety. For artists, the silent interludes, the pauses between thoughts, the quiet moments of observation and reflection, are often where true inspiration lies. These moments of 'colorful silence' are where we, as artists, can truly listen to our inner voice and let it guide our hands and hearts.

Monet's work encourages us to find beauty in the everyday, to seek inspiration not just in the grand and magnificent, but in the quiet, the mundane, and the fleeting. It's a call to appreciate the myriad of colors that life presents, even in its silent moments. For in this silence, there's a symphony of hues waiting to be discovered, urging us to keep our hearts awake and receptive.

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Every artist thrives on inspiration. So we've offer this insightful quote with a uniquely crafted portrait of Claude Monet. May this story invigorate your creativity! Start painting!