There are lots of surfaces and canvas for oil painting. I've tried everything from lead-primed linen to the ultra-cheap stuff you can get at places like Michaels to even oil painting on paper.

Claessens Oil-Primed Linen

Claessens makes an incredible painting surface! While I prefer the oil-primed linen, they also make an absorbant surface and a universal-primed surface in many different textures. I use the #15, which has a medium texture and works great for large and small paintings. I will sometimes play around with the smoother portrait-grade linens for smaller paintings. Claessens is available at Blick Art Supplies.

Bear in mind these are rolls of linen that you must stretch yourself. The great thing about stretching your own canvas is that you can make a painting any size and with a higher-quality canvas. Here is a YouTube tutorial on how to stretch your own canvas. You can also glue your linen onto a board as shown in this YouTube tutorial.

Linen Panels

When I paint smaller than 16x20, I like to use a painting panel rather than stretched linen. There are several places where you can get linen painting panels. My favorite is Wind River Arts. They make a large variety of surfaces, finishes and mounts. Their Baltic birch panels come with a finished back which helps protect them from moisture. SourceTek also makes good canvas panels in a variety of sizes and surfaces.

Heads up: my posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, you won’t pay one penny more, but I receive a small commission, which helps keep this website going.

Jason Tako is a nationally known fine artist who specializes in western, wildlife, plein air, and Historical Native American subject matter. He spent his learning years sketching the wetlands and wooded areas of rural Minnesota. He has been featured in Plein Air Magazine and Western Art Collector Magazine and he was the Featured Artist for the 2020 Southeastern Wildlife Expo. See his work at www.JasonTako.com and his demonstrations on his YouTube Channel.