68x85 3D Pro Raw No 8 Canvas 2-1/2" #DRE-6885

True 5:4 Photography Proportion - 68x85 Size

This magnificent and uncommon 68x85 size makes a bold statement and it feels quite familiar being in the very common 5:4 aspect ratio.

The 5:4 aspect ratio is common to both art and portrait photography, as it creates a visually pleasing format for the human figure and face. The balanced compositional format can help to create a sense of symmetry and harmony in your artwork. The 5:4 ratio has a familiar "feel", as it was commonly used in early computer monitors. Additionally, you might consider trying some relatively unknown sizes in this same proportion that we call Lost Sizes As an artist, you get the best of both worlds, because you still get to use the same aesthetically appealing 5:4 format and use rare or novel sizes that help make your art stand-out.

Explore other sizes in this same 5:4 aspect ratio:

8x10 • 12x15 • 16x20 • 20x25 • 24x30 • 28x35 • 32x40 • 36x45 • 40X50 • 44x55 • 48x60 • 52x65 • 56x70 • 60x75 • 64x80 • 72x90 • 76x95

Explore Related Products to this 68x85 Size:

• Raw Unprimed Cotton: Raw No 12 • Raw No 10
• Raw Unprimed Linen: Torrey Pines™ • Mandalay™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Heavy Weight 14oz cotton • Sierra™

Raw #8 Cotton 18 oz Unprimed

Super 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 18 oz. per square yard
• Super Heavy Weight, Dense Weave, Robust 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

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.

68x85 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
• Each corner has a diagonal oriented Diamond Brace that interlocks with the Stretcher Bars and increases frame rigidity to keep the frame square
• Three super strong 3/4" thick keyable braces and three cross braces (all 3.25" wide) provide the maximum possible support for this 68x85 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

Requires Truck Delivery

This size will be shipped on an LTL freight truck, which is safe and reliable. Our shipping cost estimator cannot possibly contemplate all the cost factors with truck shipments, so once you place your order and before we do anything, we will review and inform you if your actual cost is higher or lower. Ordering larger quantities usually does not increase the freight cost, so you get a better value by ordering larger quantities.

Conditions that impact cost are extra large products, or if your delivery address is out-of-the-way, or in a school, university, church, hotel, shopping mall, or farm. Shipping to a business address lowers cost. Contact us with any questions.

The trucking company will contact you by phone, and arrange a 4 hour window for delivery, so be sure to pick-up strange numbers during the time of delivery. Someone must be present to receive and sign for this delivery; they will not just leave it at your door. We rarely have issues, but if you notice a problem, please document it on the delivery receipt before you sign it, and take photos.

Celebrating a rich legacy since 1965, Masterpiece® is the gold standard for artist canvases in North America. Every canvas is a potential magnum opus, a union of creativity and quality materials that can transcend time. Your choices today impact your art's tomorrow, so invest in the best for a lasting legacy.

It's the eye that sees a thing, in the end. If the eye doesn't see a thing, you can't paint it. And the camera can't paint it. ♦ Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin's foray into the world of art was not a mere dalliance. The passionate intensity with which he pursued his art was evident in his belief that true seeing extends beyond the superficial. He argued that the depth of understanding and emotion could not be simply captured by a machine. While the camera might replicate an image, it cannot comprehend its essence.

The challenge for artists lies in this realm of perception. Can we tap into the deeper layers of a subject, past its mere physical form? Gauguin implies that we should trust our inner vision, that innate artist's intuition. While others might only see the surface, we are called to see Ð and consequently portray Ð the very soul of our subjects. It's an invitation, a challenge, and a responsibility all at once.

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We offer you these words of wisdom and our take on the message in hope to inspire your art. We also pay tribute by creating this unique portrait of Paul Gauguin. Go paint!