How to Roll Canvas for Shipping
Last summer after I finished my commissioned magnolia painting for The Carolina Inn, I had to ship it across the country for the company who ordered it to stretch and frame it, then they shipped it back with all the other art for the hotel’s redesign. I was SO NERVOUS to send it to Oakland, CA because I had never shipped a rolled painting on loose canvas (actually it’s on linen). I reached out for advice to three artists I admire- Christina Weaver, Felicia Forte, and Caitlin Winner, as well as the brand Gamblin who has never failed me with excellent customer support. I also did some research on YouTube and found a helpful video that showed a rolled painting being shipped in PVC pipe. After no luck finding a cardboard tube large enough (the concrete form tubes were too short, and the carpet tubes were too thin in diameter), I went with PVC pipe and the end caps that go with it. While this was my first and only time shipping a rolled painting, it made it there safely and I did a lot of researching (and stressing) to accomplish that, so I wanted to share what I learned!! Shout out to my Dad for building the easel in the photo and helping me get this large linen rolled up neatly!
I waited about a month for the paint to dry, then varnished and waited a week for that to dry. For small paintings that stay flat during shipping, I only wait 12 days for drying and 2 days for varnish. But I was extra careful since this painting had to be rolled.
First I bought this silicone release paper to lay against the painting. Gamblin had recommended a paper like this to make sure the painting didn’t stick to itself at all after being rolled. I laid the silicone paper on the clean table first, then the painting face down on top of that.
Next I placed a cardboard tube (I just used the one that my bulk linen came shipped inside of) at the bottom of the painting and began to roll carefully. So I was rolling with the painting facing out- the back of the linen touching the cardboard tube. If you were to roll with the painting facing the tube, it could wrinkle. Once it was rolled up (taking extra care that there were no wrinkles), I cut the silicone paper to size (you can see it’s still on the roll in the photo) and used the little piece of tape that came with the silicone paper to secure that in place (other tapes won’t work). I used some painter’s tape to secure the linen to the tube at the ends so it wouldn’t slide around. Note: My silicone paper was slightly smaller than the width of the linen which was fine since I had a border of linen with no paint around the perimeter- this allowed me to tape the ends of the linen to the cardboard- if the silicone paper matched the width I wouldn’t have been able to tape it without buying a roll of tape that works on this silicone paper.
After placing that inside a tube-shaped plastic bag (I used the one that my bulk linen came in) I rolled some bubble wrap around it, and slid it into the PVC pipe. If I remember correctly, my cardboard tube was about 3” in diameter and the PVC was 6”.
I used a mallet to get the PVC end caps secured, then used Gorilla brand tape to make sure they didn’t come off in transit.