I have just been commissioned to paint a mural on canvas to then be installed on a wall. I have not done it this way before. I have always painted directly on the wall. The mural is 4'x 4.5', My question is, do I stretch the canvas on bars, or do I just nail the canvas to the wall while I'm painting it? Does it matter? Any help with this would really be appreciated! Thanks! Joy

read "murals on canvas - how to" in this forum.

you do not need to use bars, just stapl the plastic to the wall first and then canvas on top of the plastic
(it will stick to the wall if you don't)

Use lager canvas than the dimentions you need (about 4-8 extra inches all around) it shrinks a little.

I'm confused the article didn't say anything about plastic and I thought the point was for it to stick on the wall?

>I'm confused the article didn't say anything
>about plastic and I thought the point was for it
>to stick on the wall?

Added to the "Murals on Canvas - How to" article:

Staple 1mil (thin) plastic onto the wall about 1 foot larger on all foue sides than the size of the mural to paint as a membrane between the wall and canvas.
Staple canvas over plastic and prime

if you do not put the plastic then the primer (gesso) will sip through the canvas and will stick to the wall so you will have a hard time tearing it off when done. plastic will just pill off the back of the canvas