takes the paint better. Just what grain is
best depends on the work. If you are going to have very fine detail in
the picture use a smoothish canvas; but whenever you are going to
paint heavily, roughly, or loosely, the rough canvas takes the paint
better. The grain of the canvas takes up the paint, helps to hold it,
and to disguise, in a way, the body of it. For large pictures, too,
the canvas must necessarily be strong, and the mere weight of the
fabric will give it a rough surface.

=Knots.=--For ordinary work do not be afraid of a canvas which has
some irregularities and knots on it. If they are not too marked they
will not be unpleasantly noticeable in the picture, and may even give
a relief to too great evenness.

=Twilled Canvas.=--The diagonal twill which some canvases have has
always been a favorite surface with painters, particularly the
portrait painters. This grain is a sympathetic one to work on, takes
paint well, and is not in any way objectionable in the finished
picture.

=The best.=--The best way is to try several kinds, and when you find
one which has a sympathetic working quality, and which has a good
effect in the finished picture, note the quality and use it. You will
find such a canvas among both the rough and smooth kinds, and so you
can use either, as the character of your work suggests. It is well to
have both rough and smooth ready at hand.

=Absorbent.=--Some canvases are primed so as to absorb the oil during
the process of painting. They are very useful for some kinds of work,
and many painters choose them; but unless you have some experience
with the working of them, they are apt to add another source of
perplexity to the difficulties of painting, so you had better not
experiment with them, but use the regular non-absorbent kinds.

=Old and New.=--The canvas you work on should not be too freshly
primed. The painting is likely to crack if the priming is not well
dried. You cannot always be sure that the canvas you get at stores is
old, so you have an additional reason for getting a good stock and
keeping it on hand. Then, if you have had it in your own possession a
long while, you know it is not fresh. Canvas is all the better if it
is a year old.

=Grounds.=--The color of the grounds should be of interest to you.
Canvases are prepared for the market usually in three colors,--a sort
of cool gray, a warm light ochrish yellow, and a cool pinkish gray.
Which is best is a matter of person