280 or 380 gsm canvas: which weight for which paint

September 8, 2026

Canvas is sold by weight, in grams per square metre, and the number tells you more than most people realise. We make two weights. Here is what separates them and who each one is for.

What the number means

Grams per square metre is the weight of the raw cotton before priming. Heavier cotton is woven from thicker thread, more tightly, so it is stiffer, has a more pronounced surface texture, and moves less when you push against it with a brush or a knife. Lighter cotton is smoother, more flexible and cheaper to make. Neither is better. They are for different work.

280 gsm: the everyday weight

This is the canvas most people should start on and many never leave. It takes acrylic beautifully, it is smooth enough for detail, and it is priced so that painting a study you might throw away does not feel like a waste. Practice work, sketches in paint, gifts, classes, a first attempt at anything: 280 is right for all of it. Ours is 100% cotton, acid free and triple primed, on a solid wood frame, so it is a proper canvas at an everyday price rather than a cheap one.

380 gsm: when weight earns its price

The heavier canvas has more tooth, meaning a more visible weave texture, and it is noticeably stiffer under the hand. That matters in three situations.

Oils and heavy body acrylic. Thick paint applied with force wants a surface that does not give. A heavier canvas holds still and takes the impasto.
Palette knife and pouring. Both put a lot of material and a lot of pressure on the surface. The extra stiffness stops the canvas flexing and cracking the paint film later.
Large pieces. Above roughly 60 cm on the short side, a lighter canvas starts to move as you work. At 380 gsm it stays taut.

Both weights are triple primed with the same acid free ground and stretched on the same solid wood frames. The wood on our canvas line carries FSC certificate C181637, which you can look up.

The honest rule

Start at 280. Move to 380 when you know why you want it: because the paint is heavy, the knife is out, or the canvas is big. If you cannot name the reason, you do not need the heavier one yet, and the money is better spent on more canvases to practise on.

What about panels?

Canvas panels, which are canvas glued to a rigid board, are the third option. They cannot flex at all, they store flat in a stack, and they are the cheapest way to paint on real canvas. For studies, plein air, and anything you want to frame behind glass, they are often the smarter buy. Ours are 280 gsm in eleven sizes.