18x18 3D Pro Carmel Canvas 3-1/2" #TC-1818

True 1:1 Square Proportion - 18x18 Size

The 18x18 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:

6x6 • 8x8 • 10x10 • 12x12 • 14x14 • 16x16 • 20x20 • 22x22 • 24x24 • 30x30 • 36x36 • 40x40 • 42x42 • 48x48 • 54x54

Explore Related Products to this 18x18 Size:

• Acrylic Primed Cotton: Monterey™ • Tahoe™ • Heavy Weight 14oz cotton • Sierra™
• Acrylic Primed Linen: Muir™ • Vintage L22U™
• Alkyd / Oil Primed Linen: Malibu™ • Vintage L21C™
• Hardcore Canvas Panel: Carmel™
• Vincent™ Pro 7/8 • Monet™ Pro 1.5 • 3D™ Pro 2.5

Carmel™ 7oz Portrait Smooth Cotton

Very smooth surface texture for fine detailed type work, but still has enough texture to grip the paint.

• 100% Cotton 7 oz.; Primed Weight 10.3 oz. per square yard
• Medium Weight, Medium Weave, Portrait Smooth 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

3D™ Pro 3.5 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 3.5" 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

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.

18x18 3.5" Deep Edge Heavy Frame Offers Maximum Support!

• Drawing depicts the exact frame construction, not the proportion
• 3.5" Deep Edge K3 Heavy Stretcher Bars are precision machined with a unique double tongue-and-groove corner joint that provides rock-solid torsional rigidity that resists warping or twisting, which is an important benefit for such a deep edge canvas
• No Brace Required for this size
• To increase canvas tension, remove any staples in the corners and tap all of the expansion keys further into their respective slots, then tension and re-staple the canvas in the corners

Our Ecosystem Depends on Healthy Forests

Forests play a vital role in our planet's ecosystem. They absorb carbon dioxide, filter air and water, and provide habitat for countless species of plants and animals. By using sustainably sourced lumber, we can help to protect these important ecosystems and ensure that they continue to provide these valuable services for generations to come.

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 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

One of the most celebrated features about 3D™ Pro 3.5 canvases is the patently robust framing system that makes it possible to increase the tension in the middle of the canvas, where the tension is needed the most. Our well-made keyable bracing system supports the canvas indefinitely. Braces prevent the stretcher bar frame from bowing-in so the canvas stays tighter long-term.

In painting, one must search not for what is in front of the eye, but what lies within the heart. ♦ George Inness

He was not merely a painter, George Inness was a luminary in American Art; he was an explorer of the human soul. This conviction, that art transcends mere representation and delves into the realm of emotions and spirit, characterized his approach. For him, the act of painting was less about capturing the physical world and more about revealing the ethereal, unseen landscapes of the heart.

When we pick up our brushes, it's not merely to reproduce the visual world. It's an opportunity, an invitation even, to reach into our very essence, tap into our deepest emotions, and share them with the world. We are entrusted with the task of making the invisible visible. We don't just paint what our eyes see, but we bring to light the passions, dreams, and desires that define our human experience. In this light, our art becomes not just a piece of decoration but a profound communication, a heart speaking to another heart.

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We hope you will be inspired by the wisdom, and our interpretation thereof, of George Inness, plus we made this unique little portrait to begin the creative process. Time to start your creative process!

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.