Painting Supports

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, and other functions where sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used on fashion handbags.In the early 20th century, cotton came into use. Cotton, which stretches more and has an even mechanical weave, is less preferred than linen by the professional artist. Read more

"panel" was created from wood with a chalk mixture layered on top to form a solid, smooth surface, not unlike ivory, and was then painted using an egg-yolk based paint.A panel painting would typically be displayed inside a church as an altarpiece, or behind or in front of the altar as a visual enhancement to a sermon while in later years it would be integrated into furniture. Read more

A mural is a painting on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface.Murals of sorts date to prehistoric times such as the paintings on the Caves of Lascaux in southern France. There are many techniques. The most well known is probably "fresco", which uses water soluble paints with a damp lime wash, a rapid use of the resulting mixture over a large surface, and often in parts (but with a sense of the whole). Read more

Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. The fibres used are usually natural and based upon cellulose. The most common material is wood pulp from pulpwood (largely softwood) trees such as spruces, but other vegetable fibre materials including cotton, linen, and hemp may be used. Read more