Behind the Scenes: Big Canvas Energy on the Workshop Floor

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when a custom order completely takes over an entire workshop, this is it.

A 3m x 2m Linen canvas

The beast in the photo above is a custom 300cm x 200cm (3m x 2m) stretched linen canvas. It’s freshly cross-braced, neatly stapled along the heavy timber, and drum-tight. Standing next to a 3-meter frame gives you a real perspective on scale—it’s not just an artist’s material anymore; it becomes a piece of architecture.

Building a canvas of this magnitude is a whole different beast compared to standard sizes. When fabric is stretched across a frame that large, it exerts immense physical force on the wood. Without proper engineering, a frame will bow inward under tension or warp the moment the humidity shifts in a room. To keep a 300x200cm surface perfectly flat, square, and rigid, we build a heavy-duty internal cross-bracing grid. It distributes the tension evenly across every square inch, ensuring the canvas stays rock-solid for decades to come, no matter how much paint the artist throws at it.

What’s on the Workbench Today?

One giant canvas is a physical workout. A production run of five is an absolute marathon.

Now that this linen giant is wrapped and ready for the artist’s studio, we’re immediately diving into the next stage of the project: four more 300x200cm canvases, currently lined up in production.

For this next batch, we are swapping out the raw linen for a heavy 12oz cotton duck. Cotton duck at this weight is a dream to work with—and even better to paint on. It offers a dense, tightly woven weave that handles heavy impasto, intense layering, or fluid washes without sagging or stretching out over time.

Here is a quick look at what goes into building a batch of extra-large canvases like these:

• Custom Timber Frame Construction: We mill and assemble heavy-profile stretcher bars designed specifically to hold structural tension over large spans.

• Precision Cross-Bracing Grid: Each 300x200cm frame receives an intricate internal timber matrix to prevent twisting or bowing under strain.

• Hand-Stretching & Tensioning: Stretching 12oz cotton duck at 3 meters long requires serious mechanical leverage and two pairs of hands working in unison to pull the grain perfectly straight.

• Flawless Corner Folds: Big canvases mean thick corner folds. We spend extra time tailoring the corners so they lay completely flat against a gallery wall.

How Big Can We Actually Go?

We often get asked in the shop, "So, what’s your absolute limit?"

While 300x200cm is a commanding, statement-making size that dominates a room, it isn't our ceiling. Right here in our workshop, we can manufacture custom stretched canvases up to 4m x 2m (400cm x 200cm).

Moving up to a 4-meter canvas opens up incredible possibilities for muralists, fine artists, and large-scale commercial installations. At 4 meters wide, you're talking about a continuous, seamless surface that spans nearly an entire wall without a single seam to disrupt the composition. Whether an artist needs raw Belgian linen for natural texture, a double-primed surface, or ultra-heavyweight cotton duck, we tailor every single component to the artist's specific working style.

The Daily Grind Behind the Craft

People often see the finished product hanging neatly under gallery lighting, but the behind-the-scenes process is loud, tactile, and deeply satisfying. On any given day, the workshop smells of fresh-cut Tulipwood, canvas sizing, and timber finish. Sawdust is flying, tape measures are constantly running, and the rhythm of pneumatic staple guns fills the room.

There's a real art to the craftsmanship before the actual art even begins. Knowing that we are hand-building the foundation for someone's masterpiece—something that will hold thousands of strokes of oil or acrylic paint—is what makes the physical labour worth it.

Now, if you'll excuse us, we have four more 3-meter frames waiting on the assembly table, and a fresh roll of 12oz cotton duck that needs stretching.