Thomas Baker tutorial video DVD sales page

Brand new, on DVD! Thomas Baker's lively tutorial video on canvas stretching! Not (always) boring! Thomas Baker attempts to make canvas stretching fun! And fails! (A chore is a chore, after all). Yet this tutorial is at least interesting: along with the demonstrations, paintings come to life and anatomical skulls in his studio speak as Thomas Baker wittily imparts to you the age-old skills of canvas stretching. And as a bonus, he teaches you the history of realist art down through the ages, illustrated by his own forgeries--make that extremely accurate copies--of ancient and historic paintings, culminating in a discussion of how canvas came to be favored as a support for painting, replacing wooden panels about 500 years ago.

This entertaining video teaches an artist how to quickly make his or her own traditional-style canvases to paint on, saving time and money, and providing superior-quality canvases in any size required.

This DVD contains nearly two hours (1 hr. 58 minutes, to be exact) of video, packed with how-to demonstrations, covering all aspects of how to make your own canvases, in any size, standard or custom. Price: only $22.50 (continental USA only), with shipping free! Fast delivery by Priority Mail (usually two days), with the DVD shipped in its own jewel case inside a padded envelope. A more detailed description of video contents can be found below. NTSC (United States) format only.

Price $22.50; includes fast Priority Mail shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S.

(NTSC format for U.S. video equipment only--will not play on standard European PAL equipment)

This entertaining, educational, nearly two-hour-long DVD covers the following topics:

Introduction (20 min): Baker discusses the history of classical realist painting, and shows examples of important paintings from the past, beginning with the 20,000-year-old cave paintings of Europe, through the ancient classical civilizations (Crete, Egypt, Greece, Rome), and thence through the great painting masters of the Renaissance to the present day. This leads into a discussion of the history of canvas as a support for painting.

Part One (29.5 min): Tools for Canvas Stretching. All necessary tools, as well as optional but helpful ones, are shown and listed, and then demonstrated. Different tool choices, such as tacks vs. staples, the many kinds of staple guns, and the different kinds of canvas pliers are shown, as well as how to make your own canvas pliers. Tools and techniques for removing tacks and staples are shown.

Part Two (7 min): A comparison of canvas types (cotton and linen), their differences, advantages and disadvantages, durability and archival qualities, and how to choose the best type for your purposes.

Part Three (23.5 min.) How to build stretcher frames. Where to get the wooden frame parts, and how to assemble and square up the frame and prepare it for having canvas stretched over it. How to use keys to tighten slack canvas, and the dangers of doing it this way, as well as the inadvisability of trying to shrink out wrinkles in canvas with water spray.

Part Four (39 min.) How to attach the canvas to the frame. Cutting out the canvas from a roll is demonstrated, followed by an animated diagram of the stapling or tacking sequence, and finally a complete staple-by-staple demonstration of how to stretch and attach the canvas to the frame, including corner folding and fastening down loose canvas behind.

Occasional Tom-foolery livens up the demonstrations when paintings somewhat come to life, screaming things fly out of Pandora's box, and an anatomical skull in the studio comments on the proceedings and eats candy (you have to be there).

This is the first of several art tutorials to be produced by Thomas Baker. Watch here for others in the future.

Thomas Baker Oil Painting

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