68x85 Monet Pro Mandalay Canvas 1-1/2" Deep #MMA-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:

4x5 • 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 Linen: Mono Lake™ • Torrey Pines™
• Raw Unprimed Cotton: Raw No 12 • Raw No 8 • Raw No 10
• Acrylic / Oil Primed Linen: Muir™ • Vintage L22U™ • Santa Cruz™ • Malibu™ • Vintage L21C™ • Ventura™ • Versailles™ • Grenoble™ • Pau™ • Isola™ • Poitiers™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Sausalito™ • Sierra™ • Shasta™
• 3D™ Pro 2.5

Raw Mandalay™ Belgian Linen 11.6 oz Unprimed

Very heavy weight linen and very tightly woven. Take control of your art by preparing your own ground on Belgian Linen canvas. Use bare expanses of canvas as part of the painting or simply create the ground exactly ask you like.

• 100% Belgian Linen 11.6 oz. per square yard
• Very Heavy Weight, Tight Weave, Coarse Texture
• Raw fabric blocks 92% of the light, which indicates how tight is the weave
• Warp and Weft: 31x33 yarns per square inch
• Linen has natural oils that prevent disintegration over time.

Monet™ Pro 1.5" Deep B2 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.

• Super strong B2™ Stretcher Bar upgrade is 50% stronger
• For this 68x85 large size frame, this upgrade adds more strength and stability
• Produces a 1.5" deep stretched canvas
• 2-1/4" 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

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.

68x85 Monet Pro Super Heavy Frame with Steel Corners Provides the Ultimate Support!

• Drawing depicts the exact frame construction, not the proportion
• Extra Heavy 2-1/4" wide Stretcher Bars, 1.5" deep - 50% stronger than our normal Bars they provide vastly superior frame strength needed for this large 68x85 size
• Each corner has a 1/4" thick triangular steel plate and a diagonal oriented Diamond Brace that interlocks with the Stretcher Bars and provides maximum support and rigidity to help keep the frame square and flat for this large 68x85 size
• 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 Monet™ Pro 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", 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

Steel Corners and Diamond Braces Increase Rigidity for this 68x85 Size

For our larger size Monet Pro frames, like this 68x85 size, we use 1/4" painted steel and diagonal Diamond wood braces for unprecedented frame rigidity and strength. The triangular steel plates are inserted into the groove on the inside perimeter of the Stretcher Bar and improve torsional strength to help keep the frame flat.

The diagonal Diamond wood braces lock the corners and the steel plate in place and help keep the frame square. Together, these two features contribute to producing the finest and strongest 1.5" deep canvas on the market.

Incidentally, this feature is not offered for our 3D Pro™ Canvases because it is simply not required for the double tongue-and-groove corner joints of 3D Pro™ that provide adequate torsional strength for those 2.5" and 3.5" deep frames.

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.

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.

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 60 years 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

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.

The spirit is the true self. The spirit, the soul, is alone eternal. ♦ Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky, a pioneer of abstract art, was not just an artist in the conventional sense but also a thinker who delved deep into the spiritual dimensions of art. His works often transcended the tangible, aiming to capture the essence of emotions and the intangible vibrations of the soul. Behind the vivid colors and swirling forms was an artist deeply connected to a world beyond the visual, seeking to express the inexpressible.

For many artists, the act of creating is a journey inward, a quest to connect with an inner essence or truth. It's in this realm of the spirit that we find authenticity and eternal significance. As we strive to express ourselves, it's this spirit, this soul, that guides our hands and imaginations. The materials we use may age, the styles may evolve, but the spirit behind each creation remains timeless and enduring.

---

With a nod to Wassily Kandinsky, we present these words of wisdom and our own custom crafted portrait. Let this fusion stoke your creative fires. Dive into your art!