Why I Use Fredrix Canvas
The surface underneath a painting matters more than most people realize.
I paint with heavy palette-knife impasto, so I ask a lot from a canvas. It needs to feel substantial, hold thick layers of oil paint beautifully, stay taut, and feel worthy of the finished work. That is why I’ve used Fredrix Artist Canvas for years.
Fredrix has been making artist canvas since 1868, when founder E.H. Friedrich became the first person in the United States to manufacture artist canvas commercially. Today, the company still controls its production closely, with priming done just outside Atlanta and its own factory in Tijuana, Mexico. Fredrix says it owns and quality-controls the process from beginning to end, which is one reason the product has always felt so consistent to me.
My favorite is the Fredrix Pro Series Dixie. It is a professional-grade, 100% cotton duck canvas with a substantial 17.5 oz primed weight, double-primed in Georgia with acid-free acrylic titanium gesso. The deep 2¼-inch profile is particularly beautiful for larger work because it gives the painting real presence on the wall, even without a frame.
For my style, the surface is exceptional. It has enough tooth to grab the paint, enough strength to support heavy impasto, and enough refinement that the finished piece still feels elegant rather than overly rustic.
One of my recent large paintings, Turquoise Tides, was painted on Fredrix canvas. The piece sold to collectors in Santa Cruz and is now living in a beautifully designed contemporary home. They had worked closely with an interior designer, and it was especially satisfying to see a heavily textured original painting settle so naturally into such a considered space.
That is something I think about more and more: the painting may begin in the studio, but eventually it becomes part of someone’s architecture and daily life. The materials need to hold up to that transition.
I’ve also had the pleasure of working with Fredrix professionally in the past, so my connection to the company goes beyond simply buying their canvases. But the reason I continue to use them is very simple: I genuinely love painting on them.
When I’m making a large original that may live with a collector for decades, I want the structure underneath the paint to be every bit as serious as the painting itself.
And for me, Fredrix continues to be one of the best surfaces I can put a palette knife to.
