Sep_19 The Shape and Size of a Canvas - Part 2

This is the second part of the August blog on canvas shapes. In this blog, we’ll look at round, oval and rectangular shaped canvases.

For me, the round canvas has a spiritual component related to its wholeness, sense of completeness, and lack of straight edges. The round canvas is the most captivating in my experience. In June 2015, I visited the New York Museum of Modern Art and for the first time saw a painting on a round canvas. That changed my life and I began purchasing them. Who knew that you could just purchase a canvas in this shape? They are still my favourite today!

Here are several of my round canvases, and although they are all so very different, they have the spiritual base that unites them.

Whimsy

Burst of Life

Beacon

Power of Prayer

The oval canvas has some similarities to the round one in that it doesn’t offer any straight line edges. It does offer one direction that is increased and that allows for a creative use of that extended surface. In all of these paintings, I’ve chosen the horizontal orientation since it offers me the expansion in width that I find so interesting. At some point I’ll have to try the other orientation and see what that evokes in me.

Fire and Water

Delightful

Secrets of My Soul

The rectangular canvas is the most common and comes in various configurations. In the rectangle, we naturally relate to the straight sides working in contrast and in harmony with the edges of the painting.

Here are several examples of interesting rectangular paintings and the variety of what’s possible within this shape.