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Is there anything more daunting than a blank white canvas waiting to be smothered in color? Switch things up with a black canvas. While traditional canvases are primed with opaque white gesso, manufactures also produce canvases and canvas boards primed with black gesso. Black canvases are a great tool for experimenting with different colored grounds, backgrounds, and contouring styles. Paint really pops against a black canvas, and the dark ground inspires different approaches to highlights and shadows. Browse our selection of black canvases and canvas boards below to find the right product for you.
1. U.S. Art Supply Professional Black Blank Canvas
U.S. Art Supply’s four-pack of 16 x 20-inch black canvases are professional quality. These black canvases are acid-free and heavy duty, and with their durable frame construction and heavyweight gesso–primed surface, they are built to last. Suitable for all media types such as acrylic, oil, watercolor, tempera, gouache, pouring, airbrushing and mixed media collaging, they are also super versatile.
2. Fredrix Red Label Black Stretched Canvas, 18 x 24
Fredrix is known the world over for luxurious canvas, and these midlevel canvases stay true to that reputation. The duck canvas has a medium weight and texture, finding the perfect balance of quality and affordability. The canvas is stapled in the back of the stretcher boards and is double-primed with acid-free black gesso for a primed weight of 12 ounces.
3. SL Crafts Black Mini Stretched Canvas
If you’re in the market for a small canvas, choose SL Crafts’ six-pack of black mini canvases. Ideal for multipart works and painting series, these stretched canvases measure 4 x 4 inches. Made of high-quality 100 percent cotton and primed with black gesso, they are suitable for a range of paint mediums.
4. Fredrix Value Series Cut Edge Canvas Panel, Black, 8 by 10, pack of 25
Fredrix’s Value Series, which these black canvas panels are a part of, offers the quality of Fredrix canvas for a lower price. One of the ways they cut costs is by not wrapping the canvas, so the edges and back are raw. They make excellent practice boards, and this pack of 25 panels is enough to supply a classroom. The canvas is primed twice but if you are used to stretched canvas, note that glued panels absorb paint differently, and sometimes need a heavier hand. Also, since the board is thin, these panels are easy to fit in a run-of-the-mill frame.
5. Phoenix Black Painting Stretched Canvas
Phoenix’s four-packs of black stretched canvases come in various sizes. Made of 100 percent cotton, these stretched canvases have been quadruple-primed to ensure that the surface won’t crumble or crack. The pine stretcher bars are built for stability, and the surface of the canvas stays taut.
