How do you fix a hole in a painting cavas?

Question

I'm working on a painting and am about 1/2 way finished. I woke up this morning to a bit of a tear in it, and a cat with a less than innocent look on his face. The tear is about 1 inch long but there aren't any pieces of the canvas missing. Is there something I can do to fix it?

Answer 1

As you other answer says, Put a piece of canvas on the back if you haven't already done so.. I use a book binders glue because it is removable if needed.. Put some books and waxed paper under it and over it until it dries. Be sure canvas is held straight and flat. If you have small strings on top you can clip them off.

There is a way to fill any hole in the front (if there is one) but that varies depending on a lot of factors. One way...I drip in a melted wax and press it with a piece of textured canvas while it is setting up. Your hole is filled, it has a canvas texture and can be painted over and scrapped or sanded if needed. And doesn't effect the surrounding paints if that area was already painted. Just touch up. With luck and skill you won't even be able to find it.

Answer 2

Take a small piece of canvas that will cover the hole and attach it to the back of the canvas, behind the hole, with acrylic medium or gesso. Smooth everything down and apply gesso liberally to the tear on the front of the canvas. Allow that to dry and sand it level. You'll probably need to repeat that several times and will end up doing a lot of work if you're wanting something smooth.

It works a little easier if you paint with heavy brushstrokes... it's going to be pretty difficult to avoid a different texture in the repaired area. If you've not got too much time invested, I'd suggest stripping the frame, stretching a new canvas and starting over. Then again... you may be lucky and it will work perfectly. You might as well try it.

Answer 3

Tape it from behind with white duck tape, then on the front use spackel like you would for drywall. Then repaint the area.