Oil-Primed Linen Makes a Comeback

The popularity of oil-primed linen has waxed and waned throughout history. In the days of wooden panels, it was used primarily for studies, rather than for finished paintings. Later the humidity and exasperating temperature fluctuations of Venice inspired a newfound interest in oil-primed linen because it was less susceptible to cracking than were wooden panels. In the early 1800s, linen's popularity rose even further. It was lightweight, it could be rolled for transport, it was easily stretched, and it could be glued onto wooden panels. Industrial and mechanical developments, however, eventually allowed for the creation of inexpensive cotton canvas. Artists inevitably gravitated to the cheaper fabric, and linen quickly fell out of vogue.

Today linen is making a proud comeback, as increasing numbers of fine artists are willing to pay more for the time-tested assurance of an oil-primed support. In response to increasing demand, a wide range of oil-primed linens, in both unstretched and stretched varieties, has become available. Noteworthy on the scene are ready-to-use oil-primed linen panels and boards, which are available from a number of manufacturers in a wide range of sizes and weights.

Stretching Preprimed Linen
Kristine Diehl, of Plymouth, Minnesota, chose linen early in her career because she wanted a smooth surface for the fine detail in her portraits. "I was working on cotton canvas but didn't like its roughness and imperfections," she says. "I tried to get a smoother surface by trowelling on Winsor & Newton Foundation White with a palette knife, but this left lines from the knife. In order to get it perfectly smooth I had to sand it. My instructor at the time told me that the white contained lead, and that I was making the lead airborne by my sanding, so I started looking for a new painting surface."

Diehl obtained numerous samples and tried them out. She settled first on Claessens oil-primed Belgian linen, but eventually switched to the Artfix X-Fine Detail oil-primed linen she now uses exclusively. "I prefer working on primed linen because if I were to prime it, I might make a mistake," she says. "I figure I can let the experts who spend all their waking hours working in this field do the priming. That way I can stand behind my materials when I sell my paintings. I also like the oil-primed linen because acrylic primers have not been around long, and I don't know what will happen to them in 100 years. What happens if the acrylic remains flexible and the oil paint gets more brittle? Therefore I trust the oil primer on linen, because it is time-tested." Diehl notes the one drawback of linen is its price, a fact she is quickly reminded of each time she purchases her usual large bolt (85" x 51/2 yards). "I'm always shocked at how much it costs," she admits, "but I justify it by reminding myself that the cost