48x48 Elite Professional Shasta Deluxe Cotton 1-1/2" Deep #EH-4848

True 1:1 Square Proportion - 48x48 Size

48x48 is one of our most desirable square sizes.

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:

11x11 • 12x12 • 13x13 • 14x14 • 15x15 • 16x16 • 17x17 • 18x18 • 19x19 • 20x20 • 21x21 • 22x22 • 23x23 • 24x24 • 25x25 • 26x26 • 27x27 • 28x28 • 29x29 • 30x30 • 31x31 • 32x32 • 33x33 • 34x34 • 35x35 • 36x36 • 37x37 • 38x38 • 39x39 • 40x40 • 41x41 • 42x42 • 43x43 • 44x44 • 45x45 • 46x46 • 47x47 • 49x49 • 50x50 • 51x51 • 52x52 • 53x53 • 54x54 • 55x55 • 56x56 • 57x57 • 58x58 • 59x59 • 60x60 • 61x61 • 62x62 • 63x63 • 64x64 • 65x65 • 66x66 • 67x67 • 68x68 • 69x69 • 70x70 • 71x71 • 72x72 • 73x73 • 74x74 • 75x75 • 76x76 • 77x77 • 78x78

Explore Related Products to this 48x48 Size:

• Acrylic Primed Linen Elite™: Grenoble™ • Pau™
• Oil Primed Linen Elite™: Isola™ • Poitiers™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton Monet Pro™: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Tahoe™ • Heavy Weight 14oz cotton • Sierra™
• Oil Primed Linen Monet Pro™: Malibu™ • Vintage L21C™ • Ventura™ • Versailles™
• 3D™ Pro 2.5 • 3D™ Pro 3.5

Vegan Ground:

There are no animal products that make-up the sizing and the primer for this fine canvas. Historically, traditional canvas grounds have included egg tempura, pigments with cow urine, and of course, rabbit skin glue. In today's rapidly advancing world, there are many more choices available for artists who prefer non-animal based products that perform far better than their animal-based predecessors.

Shasta™ 20 oz Acrylic Primed Cotton

Deluxe Heavy Weight Cotton. Super strong yet has a medium supple feel.

• 100% Cotton 14.5 oz; Primed Weight 20 oz per square yard
• Extra Heavy Weight, Strong Weave, Medium Texture
• Sized and Triple Primed with acid-free archival quality acrylic gesso
• Impenetrable ground prevents oil paint from leaching through and harming the canvas
• For acrylics, oils, alkyds, and water miscible oil paints

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) Primer Pigment

Our primer is made with the highest-quality Titanium Dioxide white pigment, which is an excellent pigment for acrylic primed grounds, providing superior whiteness and maintaining excellent flexibility over time. Unlike some other common pigments, such as zinc dioxide, TiO₂ doesn't become brittle as it ages, helping to ensure that your painting will stand the test of time.

48x48 Frame Kit B2 Super Heavy Frame Offers the Ultimate Canvas Support!

• Drawing depicts the exact frame construction, not the proportion
• Precision Machined keyable Super Strong Stretcher Bars (1.5" deep by 2-1/4" wide) allow you to increase the canvas tension
• Super Strong Keyable Brace (3/4" x 3.25") and a regular Cross Brace Included
• The Bars have a clever utility groove on the inside perimeter of the frame to attach the cross braces
• Unique Keyable Cross Braces allow you to tension the canvas in the middle, where it's needed the most
• Cross braces are glued and stapled at the 'cross' for maximum support and rigidity
• Both corner keys and brace keys are pre-installed

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.

Finger Jointed Wood is not meant for Stretcher Bars

Solid wood makes the most dependable Stretcher Bar, because one homogeneous wood member is going to behave similarly across the entire length of the Bar. Whereas, with finger-jointed wood is made-up of multiple pieces of wood, sometimes on the actual joint itself, presenting multiple points of failure which no one can control.

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 add or reduce value to your final painting. The fact is, you don't want problems, and finger joints only increase that risk of the wood falling apart in the future.

The glue used to bind finger joints is a water based adhesive and when that wood is exposed to high humidity environments, particularly with exterior walls, the glue joints can give-up. 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.

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 we stretch a canvas 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.

Forests need People, and People Need Forests

The concept of sustainability presupposes a comprehensive engagement of individuals in the art and science of forest stewardship, both in the present and for the well-being of generations to come. Humanity undoubtedly extracts wood from forests to supplement our needs, but they also play a crucial role in bestowing diligent care upon these ecosystems. This stewardship encompasses not only the responsible harvesting of forest resources but also extends to the safeguarding of clean water sources, the preservation of wildlife and their native habitats, and the mitigation of potential threats like erosion, fires, and diseases that could otherwise lead to untimely degradation of these precious woodlands.

Masterpiece® uses only lumber harvested from responsibly and sustainably managed timberlands.

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.

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 Elite™ 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

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

Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner

While all of our Masterpiece® Pro canvases are stretched very tightly and our frames have a built-in method to increase tension, we have another method to add canvas tension. Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner (sold separately) can be sprayed on the back of a canvas to repair most canvas tension issues.

With Tight'n'Up™, you can add tension to just a small area, or a large area. Simply spray it lightly on the back and brush it into the canvas, and within seconds, your canvas becomes tighter and stays tighter. The more you use, the tighter it gets.

One of the most celebrated features about Elite™ canvases is the patently robust framing system that makes it possible to increase the tension in the middle of the canvas, where the tension is needed the most. Our well-made keyable bracing system supports the canvas indefinitely. Braces prevent the stretcher bar frame from bowing-in so the canvas stays tighter long-term.

Time is the wisest counselor of all. ♦ Plutarch

An ancient historian and philosopher, Plutarch often encapsulated profound truths in succinct statements. This adage beautifully articulates the transformative and enlightening power of time. Just as time can erode mountains, it also has the remarkable ability to provide clarity, understanding, and wisdom.

In the world of art, this sentiment holds a special resonance. As we progress in our careers, time becomes both a mentor and a muse. Initial reactions to a piece might be charged with emotionsÑpride, doubt, elation, or disappointment. But with the passage of time, we gain perspective. A painting once deemed a failure might later reveal lessons that push our boundaries. Similarly, what we once considered our magnum opus might, in retrospect, highlight areas for growth.

By valuing time as a counselor, we learn patience. It encourages us to step back, reflect, and allow our experiences to simmer and mature. This process often leads to deeper insights and a more nuanced understanding of our work. As artists, by surrendering to time, we are often rewarded with its richest lessons, strengthening both our art and our character.

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We found this intriguing quote, wrote insightful context, as well as created this unique image of Plutarch to enrich your experience and inspire. Inspire us with your next painting!