Debra, stretching your own canvas is a great idea, but at the time being I prefer to buy my canvas ready made. I prefer to buy Vincent Masterwrap Oil Primed Belgian Linen canvases and have been very happy with the quality. My 2nd choice would be the Frederix Blue Label Utrasmooth canvases, they are a bit cheaper then the Vincent type.
Allan, what are you basing the 14" inch width on?
Keeping in mind that a life-size head is ca. 7.5" inch long and the torso for the average individual about 2 heads wide, I came up with these lengths for the minimum required canvas size. I am adding about 3-4 inches to each measurement to have room at the top and bottom. Of course the width will depend on the composition and how much room is required for the background.
For a life size head and shoulder, meaning head and enough torso up to the sternum (ca. 15") a 18 inch length seems to be a good size.
For a 1/2 figure life size, that's about 3.5 heads to the belly button (ca. 26.5") , the minimum canvas size should be around 30" inch length.
For a 3/4 figure , that's about 5.5 heads to above the knee, (ca. 41.5") the minimum canvas size should be around 45 inch length.
A full size figure, that's about 7.5 heads tall (ca. 56") , the minimum canvas size should be around 60" inch length.
Would you agree with this rough assessment or would you allow for more room between the figure and the canvas perimeter? If not, please give reasons.
I have painted a seated full figure on a canvas measuring 30" x 40" and framed this has taken up a lot of room. I am wondering , when it comes to full figure compositions is 60" too large for most homes?
Would you paint a full figure smaller than life size and what size would you recommend in that case?
While browsing on-line, even though this is a bit off topic, I came across this interesting read about "sight -size". For those not familiar with the term, it's when a painter places a canvas next to the sitter to paint the individual life-size.
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:...nk&cd=17&gl=us
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