78x117 Elite Professional Shasta Deluxe Cotton 1-1/2" Deep #EH-78117

True 3:2 Film Proportion - 78x117 Size

This magnificent and uncommon 78x117 size makes a bold statement and it feels quite familiar being in the very common 3:2 aspect ratio.

The 3:2 aspect ratio is a very familiar format film, computer screens, and video, and, of course, is an aesthetically appealing proportion for your artistic compositions. Most 35 mm film cameras are based on this exact proportion, so our brains are trained to see images in this same ratio. It is commonly used for landscape photography and artwork, as it allows for a wide, panoramic view of the scene. It can be used to create a sense of balance and harmony in the composition, providing depth and perspective, as the longer sides of the canvas allow for more space to depict the background or foreground elements of the scene.

Even though this proportion is widely used, there are only a handful of commonly available standard canvas sizes in this ratio. There are a whole collection of intriguing (what we call) Lost Sizes, which are uncommon sizes in this common proportion. Unusual canvas sizes add intrigue to your artwork and an additional story to tell about your painting.

Explore other sizes in this same 3:2 aspect ratio:

12x18 • 14x21 • 16x24 • 18x27 • 20x30 • 22x33 • 24x36 • 26x39 • 28x42 • 30x45 • 32x48 • 34x51 • 36x54 • 38x57 • 40x60 • 42x63 • 44x66 • 46x69 • 48x72 • 50x75 • 52x78 • 54x81 • 56x84 • 58x87 • 60x90 • 62x93 • 64x96 • 66x99 • 68x102 • 70x105 • 72x108 • 74x111 • 76x114

Explore Related Products to this 78x117 Size:

• Acrylic Primed Linen Elite™: Grenoble™ • Pau™
• Oil Primed Linen Elite™: Isola™ • Poitiers™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton Monet Pro™: Heavy Weight 14oz cotton

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.

78x117 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
• 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
• Four Super Strong Keyable Braces and Two Cross Braces Included (3/4" x 3.25")
• The Bars have a clever utility groove on the inside perimeter of the frame to attach the cross braces and Diamond 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.

Sustainability in our Forests and our Communities

At Masterpiece®, we believe in responsible and sustainable business practices. That's why we only use lumber from sustainably managed forests in our products. By doing so, we can help to protect our planet's forests, reduce our environmental impact, and support the communities that depend on these valuable resources.

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.

Since its inception in 1965, Masterpiece® has been at the forefront of crafting superior artist canvases in North America. The canvas acts as a canvas for an artist's vision, transforming mere materials into invaluable masterpieces. Elevate your artwork with the right base; after all, its longevity speaks volumes about your brand and legacy.

I paint self-portraits because I am the person I know best. ♦ Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo, with her audacious spirit and distinctive style, captured not just the world's attention, but its heart. Her self-portraits are more than mere depictions; they are introspective narratives, revealing the layers of her life, loves, and pains. Behind every brushstroke lies a tale of resilience, passion, and an unyielding desire to express her innermost thoughts and feelings.

For many artists, the canvas becomes a mirror, reflecting not just a physical likeness, but the soul, the thoughts, and the experiences that have shaped us. It's a brave endeavor, to look inward and then share that vision with the world. By embracing her vulnerabilities and laying them bare, Frida showed us the power of authentic self-expression. It is in this candidness that artists find true freedom, because, in understanding ourselves, we find a clearer vision of the world around us.

The lesson that Frida offers is profound. As we navigate our artistic careers, it's essential to remember that the most compelling stories we can tell are often our own. It's in our personal experiences, joys, and sorrows that we find the universal threads that connect us to our audience. In being true to ourselves, we create art that resonates deeply, standing the test of time and transcending boundaries.

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Celebrating the creativity in all of us, we've taken a step provide these words of wisdom and to immortalize Frida Kahlo through our own unique portrait. Pick up your brush and create!