Canvas Preparation:

With the plywood cut and shaped into the curve I then covered the wood with a 12oz heavy weight cotton canvas. To attach the canvas I used neat PVA glue which was painted onto the wood and then the canvas stretched over it and firmly rubbed into place. For the large centre section the three pieces of plywood needed to be covered with one single piece of canvas to eliminate any seams and also allow it to be folded together so it can be easily transported. The two side pieces were also covered in a single piece of canvas, however the canvas was about 2cm too short to cover the whole length of the side so I had to attach another smaller section. The extra canvas I added to the top of the wood so that the seam will be less obvious when the canvas is up on the wall. The lesson learned here is that when you think you are buying enough canvas, buy more.

Some of the joint on the large section are also causing some problems. As the canvas was put on the wood it started to bow slightly as it was damp and due to space and size restriction I did not have a large enough table to be able to support the whole piece. The bowing has cause the wood seams to not lie completely flat, I am hoping that this will be able to be rectified either when it is attached to the wall or by removing and relacing some of the canvas strips I put along the back of the wood to strengthen the join, which could also be adding to the problem.

Primed Canvas

With the canvas in place I primed it using a watered down, to the consistency of milk, acrylic paint which once dry meant I could start sketching up the design. My original plan was to grid up using some thread which would help to scale the drawing up. In the end I decided to draw it out free hand as the design is so loose it would not matter if it was not an 100% copy of the smaller design. I first drew it out in pencil and then went over it with a waterey blue paint to consolidate the line as there were a few incorrect marks that I did not want to create a problem when it comes to painting.

Sketched out design

Sketched out design

 On one of the sample pieces I used polyfiller to create some texture. I wanted to keep this technique for the final piece, however I needed something that would be flexible for when the canvas is folded. I thought of using some Rosco Crystal Gel which is something I used on work experience to add texture,  but a lack of supplies meant I had to use something else. Finally I used some Flexbond, which is a strong glue like substance. It was a really nice product to use as it was easy to apply with a pallet knife and not as thick as polyfiller which meant I could dribble it from a height to make some really interesting marks.

Flexbond Texture

Flexbond Texture