Art on Canvas

To Quote my dear friend Aqua from one of her replies in A Watercolour Thread [where I stray if nothing else is going on in The Forum... "As for canvas a lot of people do not understand "art on canvas" you have to be somehow an artistic minded person or have heard of artists or want to make an investment to buy a canvas" As many of you know canvas is the preferred surface for Art by Meltemi. To me there is no other surface to use having tried them all [wood boards glass metal paper fibre-boards black & white boards etc. Yes art is an investment of time & money and yes 'canvas' can be expensive...but it can also be cheap...find the 'art shops' wherever you visit...there are always bargains to pick up...In the same way that paper has standard sizes, if you have a preferred canvas size and you are a prolific artist then bulk buying is a cheaper option. Canvas does have a beautiful feel, as a surface to paint on and an interesting bounce...Canvases only downside of course is the space they take up and perhaps not for the clumsier artist perhaps... The archival security of artworks on even exceptionally well prepared MDF & hardboard is in question [Acids & discolouration].. Do only great artists use canvas? Are people terrified of wasting a canvas? Terrified of using a canvas? Do they see it as the reserve of only the great artist? Is it the preparation of the canvas that worries them?