No Wood. No Warp. No Worries!™

The design of the stretcher bar has remained unchanged for 500 years—since the time of the Renaissance artists like Michelangelo, da Vinci and Raphael—until now.

Whether You Paint Like Michelangelo or Picasso

You need to paint on the “latest and greatest” foundation to enhance your reputation as a professional painter. Choose the best — DrumTyght™ extruded aluminum stretcher bars invented by Stephen Hall.

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Top Ten Benefits For You

1. Reliability DrumTyght™ stretchers will not warp, ever. My triangular design negates torsion or the twisting of the frame due to torque.

2. Enhances Your Reputation Drumtyght’s™ extruded aluminum material and design allows artists to enhance their professional credentials by using the most up-to-date and highest quality material for the foundation of their artwork.

3. Positioning Statement Enables professional artists to differentiate themselves from recreational artists and hobbyists who are painting on wooden stretcher bars.

4. No Corner or Cross Braces The triangular design eliminates twisting of the frame. No cross braces are needed for up to 20 feet in length. At the 20’ mark a connector bar will attach another 20’ or less.

5. Reuseable Canvas can be removed and streched again in the exact same position without any loss of image or canvas. Tacks and staples are not used to attach the canvas to the stretcher bar.

6. Firmer Painting Surface Canvas can be stretched tighter with more tension.

7. Less Storage Space Takes up less storage space since frame can be broken down, with no damage to canvas which can be stored flat or rolled.

8. Cheaper to Ship Stretcher bar frame with canvas attached can be disassembled, shipped and easily assembled at the destination.

9. Environmentally Friendly DrumTyght™ stretchers are recyclable, sustainable and 100% made in USA.

10. Simplifies Making Your Own Canvas DrumTyght™ stretcher bars and canvas can be assembled in minutes using only a phillips head screwdriver and a kitchen spatula.

Bonus Benefit Your collectors will appreciate the quality painting foundation that matches the quality of your artwork.

Bonus Benefit DrumTyght™ stretcher bars are designed to withstand the test of time and various environments once your painting is in the home of the collector.

Cross Section

Two screw bosses and flanges run the length of the bar to give it added strength thereby eliminating the need for bracing.

Corner Detail

The canvas is “gallery wrapped” around the frame with the canvas secured in the center groove of the bar.

cross-section with full frame and canvas on frame

Corner Folds

The canvas is folded at the corners on top and bottom rather than cut to fit like most imports of gallery wrapped canvases.

Full Frame

A completed 24″ x 48″ stretcher frame ready for the attachment of canvas.

Elements

With just 8 screws, 4 corner joiners and 4 stretcher bars, you can make a completed stretcher frame in less than 5 minutes.

Corner Joiner

In combination with the patented triangular design, my unique corner joiner negates torsion (the twisting of the frame due to torque).

Corner Joiner Detail

The joiner connects two stretcher bars, and the corner is then secured by two screws.

Attachment of Canvas

The canvas is attached without staples or tacks into the center groove of the triangular bar.

Invented: A Vastly Improved Canvas Stretcher Bar!

U.S. Patent No. 9,108,460 B2

Inspired by the Egyptian pyramids at Giza.

ABOUT DRUMTYGHT STRETCHER BARS

I have reinvented the artist stretcher bar for canvas— in shape, strength, and simplicity. My extruded one-piece aluminum stretcher bar, trademarked as Drumtyght, is a groundbreaking triangular geometric shape. It is an effective, lightweight support requiring no bracing at any size or wooden components. Moreover, unlike wood, it will not warp under any environmental conditions. Additionally, artists can attach the canvas to the stretcher bar without staples or tacks, leaving no holes or tears in the canvas fabric. In other words, it’s a genuinely innovative concept.

Before creating Drumtyght, I commissioned a marketing firm to survey artists’ satisfaction with current canvas products stretched over wooden stretcher bars. The target market was a nationwide sampling of fine art gallery owners and professional artists who make their primary living by painting on canvas. The target market reported frustration with currently available canvas products. In addition, the survey identified several inefficient and costly “remedies” in place to attempt to “fix” the problems created by traditional wooden stretcher bars. The survey concluded that a significant potential market exists for a superior artist canvas stretcher bar.

Regarding competition, a few small American companies have attempted to develop an aluminum stretcher bar as an alternative to wood. However, their designs are complex and flawed, requiring multiple parts. They mimic the traditional wooden stretcher bar in a rectangular bar shape, which is weak in the corners, and follow the conventional method of using staples to attach the canvas by including wood as an integral part of the support, negating aluminum’s benefits, increasing product cost, and leaving the finished canvas susceptible to warping. In many cases, they still have to brace the canvas, adding to the weight and production time.

ABOUT STEPHEN HALL

Art director, painter and inventor of the DrumTyght™ Stretcher Bar.

While living in Tucson, Arizona, Stephen often hiked the trails through the red rocks of Sedona seeking inspiration.

My creative career began as art director for Louisville Magazine designing Kentucky Derby layouts — including creating the cover illustration for the 100th running of the Derby. In my publishing career, I have redesigned and art directed 32 national and regional magazines.

To launch my painting career, I developed a five-year plan to make the transition from art director to artist. Three years into the plan I was represented by a respected gallery, had my paintings shown in ARTNEWS magazine, among others, and several solo shows under my belt. However, I became deeply disappointed with the poorly made brand-name professional canvases stretched over wood. So, I set out to invent a new and better canvas stretcher bar for the professional artist. The result of that challenging quest is the DrumTyght™ Stretcher Bar.

My Portfolio

All work is acrylic on Arches watercolor paper. I stopped painting on canvas due to the constant warping and general unreliability of professional level canvases stretched over wood. I can’t wait for DrumTyght to go into production so that I can paint once again on canvas.