canvas giclee

[Jason1980]

Ok gentlemen, I'm a little worried about the one and only canvas giclee in my collection "mission from debden". When I first had the print stretched and framed about six months ago it seemed to be stretched very tightly. However the other day I noticed that there appears to some "slack" in it for lack of a better term. In other words if you run your fingers across the surface you can feel a raised area at the bottom that is no longer flat and tight. The print is not hanging on an exterior wall, and it does not get direct sunlight as the blinds are always shut in that room. Should I be taking it back to the frame shop or am I just being too picky

[Russell Smith]

Jason, temperature and humidity cause expansion and shrinkage in the canvas. Actually, to be more specific, I believe its the stretcher bars that are actually shrinking and expanding. I fight that problem every winter here in my studio. My bet is that as we move into spring your canvas will tighten up again.

One trick we painters use is to lightly spray the back of a loose canvas with water. I'd be hesitant to do that on a giclee, though, as I'm not sure how the ink would react if the water bled through the canvas.

My advice, wait it out and see what happens.
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[Steven6095]

Framers have run into this a lot since giclee first came out.

There are so many different qualities of prints being done - some are easy to stretch and some are horrible. Same for water.

General rule of thumb is to NEVER spray a giclee canvas. Too many have been ruined and too many horror stories.

Very tight sometimes is not the best way and honestly it is the nature of the beast to sag a little bit. Wait for it to warm up and it should go away. People dont realize how much art / canvas / paper can grow and shrink with temp / moisture.

If itis really buckling....another trip back to the framer may be in order, but it does not reflect badly against them.

How big is the critter? Maybe able to be keyed out - according to what type of bars the framer used, but bottom line - giclee canvases will be wavy occasionally.

[Chicoartist]

Can't add anything to what Russ and Steven said except I agree. I will mention that this also happens to "real" originals on linen as well. Case in point: Every time we go to the 8th AF Museum at Savannah I always make a beeline to Keith Ferris's B-17 painting "Slow Timing Bonnie-B". Last time we were there I noticed SIGNIFICANT waves and "puffing" of the linen surface. I thought it looked terrible, actually! It's the deep south (humid) and in a large building with wide (I believe) fluctuations in temp and humidity despite their best efforts at climate control in the open main atrium. Go figure!

On a side note, for that and other reasons I paint almost exclusively on linen mounted on Gatorboard or Gatorfoam, whatever they call it. Light as a feather, will not warp beyond a tiny, tiny bit under the humidity I live with, always scans nicely because the surface is flat, and the linen fibers do not expand and contract during the year - thus no significant cracking of the paint in the long term.

As for the canvas giclees, even my copy of Mission from Debden that Steven himself did a beautiful job on shows a little buckling depending on the crazy WX we have here in the south.

Wade
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[Steven6095]

Wade - that thing was stretched during a period of constant rain and high humidity. You could have played the drums on it once the weather got better.

If it is border line, I'll do the next one tighter.

Wade uses an AWESOME quality canvas. I have never seen a better quality canvas for a giclee. Quality canvas will do that.
Some publishers are using a cheaper type that feels almost like a thin plastic - it does not do it as much, but prints dont look too good on it.
Some canvas stretches more than others.

Jason =post a pict if you can and I'll give you my two cents. Perhaps catch some glare on it and see if it will show how much. If you can stand back a couple feet from it and it looks fine - I would not worry about it.

Let the weather change and see where it ends up.

And also - even if it has to be restretched its not a mark of bad framing. Giclee canvases do come back from time to time as the fibers relax. In my opinion, the tighter they are pulled in the first place, the more they can give, but thats my opinion and no real basis for that.

[Chicoartist]

"Buckling" is too strong a word. 'Minor undulations in the surface' on occasion would be more accurate. Actually, when it arrived I was very impressed with how evenly stretched it appeared to be. The main point, however, is that we're talking about a textile stretched over sticks of wood -"living and breathing" would be a good way to think of it.

On a personal note, Steven, I'll have two in the mail to you next week - your copy of Daydreams over Cambridgeshire and my copy of Temporary Reprieve to be framed for me. I'll send along my copy of Daydreams later.

Cheers!
Wade
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[Steven6095]

Okay - sheesh Wade had me worried a bit. Yours was a bit more difficult to do because the image does not go all the way onto the bars. I left a half in or so white margin around the image so the liner would not cover too much.

Granted I hate stretching canvas, but thought that one turned out good.

Can't wait to get mine in and try to get an idea for yours.

Any rush for Temp. Reprieve???

[Jason1980]

Thanks for the information. I'm glad to hear that it's probably not a framing issue. I will try to take a picture and post it so you can see how mine looks. Wade, I will be ordering both Temporary Reprieve and Daydreams very soon.

[Chicoartist]

Thanks, Jason - and no hurry, Steven!

Wade
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[Holedigger]

Did the stretcher bars come with little wood (or plastic) wedges/keys for the corners? If so, they can be gently tapped to tighten the canvas ever-so-slightly. Changes in humidity can be a bear, that is why museums are humidity controlled, not so good for a house being lived in!