Canvas boards

Canvas boards are cotton canvases glued to rigid cardboard, ready for you to paint on as soon as you unpack them. Here you'll find boards from Kreul, Dielo, AMI, Daler Rowney, Zlatá loď and Phoenix in sizes from 5 × 5 to 60 × 80 cm. Dielo also offers round boards with diameters from 15 to 40 cm and oval boards from 18 × 24 to 30 × 40 cm. A board is light and flat, and the canvas won't slacken, making it suitable for sketches, studies, plein air painting and school. For canvas stretched over a wooden stretcher frame, see stretched canvases, and for all painting supports, see painting canvases.

How does a canvas board differ from a stretched canvas?

On a canvas board, the canvas is permanently glued to cardboard, which is 3 mm thick on Dielo and AMI boards. You can't retension it, but it takes up little space, is easy to carry and lets you put the finished painting in a standard picture frame. A stretched canvas is tensioned over a wooden stretcher frame, and you can hang the painting without an outer frame.

Choose a board for quick studies, practice and plein air painting, and a stretched canvas for a larger painting to hang on the wall. On Zlatá loď boards, the canvas wraps around the edges and is glued at the back, so you can paint the sides too.

Which paints can you use on canvas boards?

All the boards have primed cotton canvas, so you don't need to prepare them before painting. Dielo Universal Line has a canvas weight of 320 g/m² and is listed by the manufacturer for oils, acrylics, watercolours, tempera and spray paints. AMI at 380 g/m², Phoenix at 300 g/m² and Zlatá loď are suitable for oils, acrylics and tempera, while Kreul Canvas Board is suitable for acrylics and gouache. Daler Rowney Simply has a canvas weight of 250 g/m², three coats of primer and a medium grain, and is suitable for oils, acrylics, mixed media and impasto.

Which board size and shape should you choose?

You can use the small Kreul boards in 5 × 5 and 10 × 10 cm for miniatures and colour tests. Sizes from 20 × 30 to 30 × 40 cm are enough for a sketch or painting study, while Kreul and Dielo boards up to 60 × 80 cm give you room for a larger painting. Round and oval Dielo boards suit portraits, decorations or gifts.