Belgian Linen

Belgian Linen is superior archivally. You will not be able to find it in the stretched product, but it is widely available in rolls which you will need to stretch yourself. You can find rolls of linen canvas in any of the assorted art catalogs, ie. Jerry's Artarama, Dick Blick, ASW, etc. I prefer Fredrix Rix or Kent, single primed. My prefered stretcher pliers are the Holbien pliers (around $80). I use Fredrix stretcher stripes for smaller paintings, Daniel Smith medium width stretcher strips for larger paintings. I have an artist friend work with me as I stretch. I'll pull the canvas with the pliers, he'll secure the canvas with a staple gun. There is an art to stretching a canvas (note the instructions on stretching which come with the canvas roll...), but it is a necessity for a professional artist. BTW, I have a cotton duck canvas I painted 35 years ago which is already starting to deteriorate. FT professional, 18 years