83x85 Monet Pro Sausalito Canvas 1-1/2" Deep #MS-8385

Sausalito™ 11.5oz Acrylic Primed Cotton

Our second best selling surface; heavy weight and body with a rugged and paint-gripping surface texture; great for heavy paint applications and impasto.

• 100% Cotton 11.5 oz.; Primed Weight 14 oz. per square yard
• Heavy Weight, Medium Weave, Robust Texture
• Sized and Double 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

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.

Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) Primer Pigment

This primer contains premium-grade Titanium Dioxide (TiO₂) white pigment, renowned for its exceptional performance in acrylic priming. Its standout feature is its enduring whiteness, coupled with remarkable flexibility that persists over time. In contrast to other pigments such as zinc dioxide, Titanium Dioxide maintains its resilience, preventing brittleness as it ages. This quality ensures that artworks retain their integrity and will stand the test of 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 83x85 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

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.

83x85 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 83x85 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 83x85 size
• Three super strong 3/4" thick keyable braces and three cross braces (all 3.25" wide) provide the maximum possible support for this 83x85 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 83x85 Size

For our larger size Monet Pro frames, like this 83x85 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.

Sustainability is about Reducing Deforestation

Choosing products made with sustainably sourced lumber is an important way for consumers to make a positive impact on the environment. By supporting sustainable forestry practices, we can help to reduce deforestation, promote biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. It's a simple and effective way to make a difference.

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.

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

Monet™ Pro Professional canvases are built one-by-one and stretched using our proprietary stretching process called, MuseumWrap™, which relies on in-house custom-built pneumatic machinery that delivers consistently drum-tight stretched canvas, balanced tension across the canvas surface, neatly folded uncut corners, and paintable edges. It is the absolute best way to stretch a canvas.

What I dream of is an art of balance. ♦ Henri Matisse

The life and work of Henri Matisse, a leading figure in modern art, can be characterized by a continuous quest for harmony. Known for his innovative use of color and form, Matisse strived for a delicate equilibrium between the audacious and the subdued, the complex and the simple. He believed that every brushstroke, every hue, held profound meaning and needed to coexist in perfect harmony on the canvas.

In the broader spectrum of our art careers, this quest for balance is ever-present. We strive to find the equilibrium between technique and expression, between innovation and tradition, and between our artistic vision and the external influences that shape it. Matisse's dream reminds us that the true essence of art lies in this delicate balance. It urges us to continually evaluate and re-evaluate our work, ensuring that each element complements the other, creating a cohesive masterpiece that stands as a testament to our unique artistic voice.

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Creativity, the silent force beckoning you, finds its voice here. Harmonize your artistic process with these indelible words and meaning by Henri Matisse, and with our unique portrayal of a self portrait to inspire an enhanced melody in your art. Go make your music on canvas!