20x20 Monet Pro Ventura Canvas 1-1/2" Deep #MV-2020

True 1:1 Square Proportion - 20x20 Size

The 20x20 square size is a little less common but gaining in popularity.

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:

4x4 • 5x5 • 6x6 • 7x7 • 8x8 • 9x9 • 10x10 • 12x12 • 14x14 • 16x16 • 18x18 • 22x22 • 24x24 • 30x30 • 32x32 • 34x34 • 36x36 • 40x40 • 45x45 • 48x48 • 54x54 • 60X60 • 72X72

Explore Related Products to this 20x20 Size:

• Alkyd / Oil Primed Linen: Malibu™ • Vintage L21C™ • Versailles™ • Isola™ • Poitiers™
• Acrylic Primed Linen: Muir™ • Vintage L22U™ • Santa Cruz™ • Saint-Cloud™ • Grenoble™ • Pau™
• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Carmel™ • Tahoe™ • Sausalito™ • Sierra™ • Shasta™
• Hardcore Canvas Panel: Ventura™
• Vincent™ Pro 7/8 • 3D™ Pro 2.5

Ventura™ Alkyd Oil Primed Belgian Linen

This strong and fine weave linen has more of an even tooth and absorbent quality to the ground. It has a light gray tone.

• 100% Belgian Linen 7 oz.; Primed Weight 11.3 oz. per square yard
• Medium Heavy Weight, Fine Weave, Fine Texture
• Double Sized and Double Primed with acid-free archival quality alkyd ground
• Impenetrable ground prevents oil paint from leaching through and harming the canvas
• For oils, alkyds, and water miscible oil paints
• Linen has natural oils that prevent disintegration over time.

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.

Oil paint on an oil primed canvas improves your results

Using an oil prepared canvas for oil painting can produce superior results because the paint and ground are organically similar and create an ideal "chemical bond" where the paint sinks into the ground resulting in a smoother and more even finish. The resulting bond between the paint and canvas is stronger, making the artwork more durable and long-lasting. Additionally, the melding of the two oil-based materials creates an effect called luminosity, where the colors appear to glow from within, and thereby enhances the vibrancy and brightness of the colors, impacting the way light reflects off the colors.

Lightly Wipe an Oil Prepared Canvas with Mineral Spirits

While it is not required, for best results, lightly wipe or flash the oil prepared canvas with mineral spirits before painting to make sure that your surface is completely clean of any dust or contaminants before painting.

Monet™ Pro 1.5" Deep 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 1.5" deep stretched canvas canvas (Actual depth is slightly thinner)
• 1-5/8" wide Stretcher Bar
• Frames with a dimension of 20" and up have a groove machined in the center inside perimeter to which cross 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.

20x20 Monet Pro Keyable Cross Braced Frame

• Drawing depicts the exact frame construction, not the proportion
• Precision machined heavy duty keyable tongue-and-groove Stretcher Bars
• Two 3/4" thick keyable cross braces (1.5" wide) provide excellent frame support for this 20x20 size - Cross braces may be removed and reinserted at any time
• An exclusive slot is milled on the inside perimeter of all of the Stretcher Bars to which the Braces and the expansion wedges attach
• Patented keyable cross braces allow the frame to be tensioned in the middle of the canvas, where the tension needed the most
• Cross braces firmly attached with hardware at the intersection point for maximum support and rigidity
• 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

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.

Sustainable Forests Ensure More Wood for Communities

Using lumber from sustainably managed forests is not only the responsible thing to do, it's also a way to ensure that the wood products we rely on continue to be available in the future. By supporting sustainable forestry practices, we can help to ensure a steady supply of wood products while also protecting the environment and supporting local communities.

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

Our unwavering commitment at Masterpiece® is to produce only the finest, which has made us the vanguard in the world of professional fine-art canvas. Explore our extensive range of surfaces and roll sizes to find the perfect fit for your next creation.

I find that I painted my own reality, not what others wanted. ♦ Frida Kahlo

In a world rife with external influences and pressures, Frida Kahlo stood defiantly steadfast, painting her truths without compromise. The worlds she crafted on her canvas were solely her own, free from the influence of critics or contemporaries. Many artists grapple with this challenge, balancing personal vision with external expectations. As artists, we too have faced moments of doubt, moments when the voices of others threaten to drown our inner muse. Yet, Kahlo's unwavering commitment to her truth encourages us to prioritize our unique narratives and perspectives.

While the art world may at times be driven by trends and popular demands, Kahlo's legacy stands as an enduring testament to the timeless appeal of authenticity. Her fearless portrayal of her reality underscores the idea that true artistry lies not in conformity but in courage, in the bravery of painting one's unfiltered soul.

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The spirit of artistry is inspiration and creation. We too are inspired by the wisdom of this quote and hope you are inspired by our interpretation thereof, as well as this inimitable portrait we created of Frida Kahlo. Go create!

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.