42x68 3D Pro Ventura Canvas 2-1/2" #DV-4268

True Golden Mean Proportion - 42x68 Size

This 42x68 size is one of our Golden Mean sizes, considered the most pleasing shape to the eye!

The Golden Ratio, also known as the Golden Mean or Divine Proportion, is considered the most aesthetically pleasing proportion to the human eye. Used in art and architecture for thousands of years, countless examples can be found in nature, plant life, galaxies, and the human body. It is often used as a guide to arrange your subjects on the canvas in concert with other Golden Mean shapes like an ellipse, star, triangle, and spiral, resulting in intriguing compositions. Many famous artists, such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Mondrian, Botticelli, Dali, and Seurat, have used this proportion in their art, and many contemporary artists continue to use it exclusively. If you're looking for a challenge or some inspiration, consider using a canvas in the proportion of the Golden Mean to create compositions that come alive in the most intriguing and eye-catching ways!

Explore other sizes in this same 34:21 aspect ratio:

7x11 • 10x16 • 12x19 • 15x24 • 16x26 • 18x29 • 20x32 • 23x37 • 26x42 • 28x45 • 30x48 • 31x50 • 33x53 • 36x58 • 37x60 • 39x63 • 46x74 • 47x76 • 50x81 • 52x84 • 60x96 • 60x97

Explore Related Products to this 42x68 Size:

• Alkyd / Oil Primed Linen: Malibu™ • Vintage L21C™ • Versailles™ • Isola™ • Poitiers™
• Raw Unprimed Linen: Torrey Pines™ • Mandalay™
• Acrylic Primed Linen: Muir™ • Vintage L22U™ • Santa Cruz™ • Saint-Cloud™ • Grenoble™ • Pau™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Tahoe™ • Sausalito™ • Sierra™ • Shasta™
• Monet™ Pro 1.5

Ventura™ Alkyd Oil Primed Belgian Linen

This strong and fine weave linen has more of an even tooth and absorbent quality to the ground. It has a light gray tone.

• 100% Belgian Linen 7 oz.; Primed Weight 11.3 oz. per square yard
• Medium Heavy Weight, Fine Weave, Fine Texture
• Double Sized and Double Primed with acid-free archival quality alkyd ground
• Impenetrable ground prevents oil paint from leaching through and harming the canvas
• For oils, alkyds, and water miscible oil paints
• 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.

42x68 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 superior support and rigidity to help keep the frame square
• Two super strong 3/4" thick keyable braces and two cross braces (all 3.25" wide) provide the maximum possible support for this 42x68 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.

Our Ecosystem Depends on Healthy Forests

Forests play a vital role in our planet's ecosystem. They absorb carbon dioxide, filter air and water, and provide habitat for countless species of plants and animals. By using sustainably sourced lumber, we can help to protect these important ecosystems and ensure that they continue to provide these valuable services 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.

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.

Guided by our mission to provide unparalleled quality, Masterpiece® stands as the nation's prime influencer in the domain of professional fine-art canvases. Dive into our diverse collection of surfaces and roll sizes tailored for every artist's unique requirements.

To say to the painter that Nature is to be taken as she is, is to say to the player that he may sit on the piano. ♦ James Whistler

Whistler's unique approach to art often involved interpreting subjects in unexpected ways. His works, while rooted in nature, were infused with personal interpretation, mood, and atmosphere. This quote showcases his aversion to strict realism, arguing that simply replicating nature in art is as absurd as a musician sitting on their instrument rather than playing it. It's a witty reflection of his belief in the artist's role as an interpreter rather than a mere reproducer.

For contemporary artists, Whistler's words serve as an endorsement of creative freedom. Just as music goes beyond mere notes to evoke emotions, visual art should transcend mere representation. Whistler encourages artists to delve deeper, to extract and portray the underlying essence of a subject, and to bring their unique interpretations to the fore, making each piece a unique symphony of colors and emotions.

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Creativity is everything to us artists, so while you bring canvases to life, we've breathed digital life into a likeness we made of James Whistler, and provide a quote and context to inspire your art. Together, our creations honor the past, present, and future of artistry. Start spreading some paint around your own canvas!