Here's a 5'x3' canvas that we just finished building. I've often bought pre-made canvases (with deep edges so they're a little sturdier)--but once you get a staple gun, a hammer, a tape measure, and at least have access to a miter saw, making a giant (and incredibly sturdy) stretched canvas with nice, thick canvas material is cheaper than buying something of the same size, depth, and quality pre-made. All I had to buy for this one was $12 worth of canvas and $10 worth of lumber. Since it's more customizable, you can let your idea dictate your painting size--not the other way around. Plus, you don't have to pay truck shipping / minimum quantity charges for an oversize canvas like this one.
Basically, I'm a bad art student for not building my own surfaces more often. It's nice to have some pre-made deep-edge canvas ready to go in case I need to get some ideas started quick, but this saves tons of money in the long run, and it looks better in a professional setting. From now on, and especially for this body of work, I'm going to try to go for the handmade stuff.
Here's my new-and-improved painting corner--which used to be a table easel on the ground on a pile of newspaper in our apartment. Mostly obscured by the giant canvas is the nice H-frame easel Kevin bought me. It makes painting a lot more enjoyable for me (and my posture), and now I can handle ginormous formats like this much better. Bought some cheap shower curtains as drop cloths for both the walls and surrounding floor.
If I didn't have the easel, I'd probably have to take this into the classroom studio to work on it comfortably. I enjoy working during class because of the feedback I can get from instructors and my classmates, but if I get the urge to paint at night, I usually don't feel like going to the art building by myself when it's dark, cold, and isolated. Being able to paint at home really boosts the whole productivity thing...and so does being able to make your own canvas for cheap.
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