In his later years, this interest was more important for the artist, who began to paint in smaller strokes, building the decorative surface of the canvas with broad fields of color. (widewalls.ch)
In painting, the picture plane refers to the flat surface of the canvas on to which the paint is applied. (theguardian.com)
I used a towel to carefully smooth out the photo and make sure it was touching the entire surface of the canvas. (wellnessmama.com)