13 Inch 3D Pro K2 Stretcher Bar 2-1/2" Deep #K2-13

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.

What is Sustainable Forestry?

To a forester, the term "sustainable" could mean exercising industry adopted forestry practices to maintain a forest indefinitely. To a logger, the process of proper care for the trees remaining after a harvest. To a landowner, their interest may lie in keeping their forest in the family. And to those of involved in the process of making and using wood-based art supplies, it can mean promoting and supporting an industry dedicated to the preservation of our precious natural resource. We can all do our part to care for our national forests.

Canvas Size Needed for this Stretcher Bar

Most artists will stretch the canvas and attach the staples or tacks onto the back side of the frame. Doing so allows you to paint on the edge and hang your art without needed a picture frame. Generally speaking, you should allow 8 Inches of canvas beyond the size of your frame.

For example, if you were to stretch a 13x27 frame size, which happens to be a custom proportion, your canvas should be about 8 x 21. This allows you ample room to stretch and attach the canvas on the back. Should you ever need to remove the canvas from the frame and re-attach it, it still serves that purpose too. Should you want to attach the canvas from the edge of the stretcher frame, then you can reduce the size of your canvas about 3/4" all the way around the frame.

From the heart of California, Masterpiece® has been weaving a legacy since 1965, curating the best Stretcher Bars North America has witnessed. Our unwavering dedication to quality and innovation has cast us in the limelight as the trendsetting stalwarts in the realm of fine-art canvases. The patents we hold are not just certificates but validations of our pursuit of perfection. Engage with our creations and feel the promise of unmatched quality, a promise that resonates with your clients and every future beholder of your masterpiece.

In every island of the Aegean Sea are found abundant traces of a vast prehistoric empire. ♦ Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin, though primarily celebrated for his daring colors and symbolic imagery, also bore a deeply rooted fascination with places and their pasts. His insatiable curiosity took him to far corners of the world, like Tahiti, in search of untamed beauty and ancient cultures. The Aegean Sea, with its scattered islands, is a repository of tales submerged in time, a treasure trove for anyone with an ardent love for history and mythology.

Similarly, as artists, we often find ourselves on a quest for inspiration, looking beyond the visible horizon, diving into the depths of history, culture, and forgotten tales. These ancient traces become catalysts for our imagination. The remnants of a civilization or the mere whisper of an old legend can be the spark that ignites a masterpiece. Through our art, we have the privilege to breathe life into these ancient tales and, in doing so, ensure they're passed on to future generations. In Gauguin's words, we're reminded that inspiration surrounds us, waiting to be unearthed and brought to light.

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Art is visual and ripe with meaning, so enjoy this quote and our interpretation of its meaning, plus an one-of-a-kind portrait we created of Paul Gauguin to make it all the more relevant. Pick up that brush and go!

Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Retensioner

One of our most celebrated products helps make your canvas tighter! Assembling Stretcher Bars and Stretching your own canvas can present some challenges. While your canvas may seem tightly stretched, the tension may vary from staple to staple creating lines of tension across the canvas in a grid like pattern. The trick is to maintain balanced tension across the canvas.

Tight'n'Up™ Liquid Canvas Re-Tensioner is a great way to redistribute the tension in a canvas across that grid-like pattern of tension as well as increase the tension on the entire canvas. While you can can add tension by keying-out the corners of the frame, it may produce an hour-glass effect by expanding the frame in the corners, and not the center.

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. Recommended for acrylic primed cotton or linen canvas. We do not recommend it for oil primed canvas because there are simply too many different types of oil primed canvas, but used conservatively at your own risk, it will tension any canvas.