For Christmas I got a lovely oil painting that I’m now trying to work out how to frame. It’s on canvas [currently rolled up in a tube] and there’s about an inch and a half of “non-painting” canvas around the edge. The first issue is that it’s a somewhat non-standard size - 20"x24" - and I’m having a hard time finding a [simple!] frame that it’d fit in. The second issue is that I have no idea how one goes about putting this in a frame. Do you tape the extra around the back of the cardboard in the frame? Trimming it seems dangerous. Am I obligated to mat it? Should I resign myself and get it framed professionally? What are my opitions?
Look to spend well over $100 to get this professionally framed. Arts and Craft stores have some framing supplies for do-it-yourselfers. Typically, you mat an oil panting. The non-painted canvas is there to give you room to do this without loosing any of the painting. Then you frame it.
If you don’t mat it, I imagine that it will eventually get all wrinkly and ruined.
-lv
LordVor, are you sure you mean “matting” which I think means placing a kind of inner carboard frame with a bevel cut edge? I think putting it on a stretcher is more like what you would do with an oil painting. I have an oil painting that I got professionally framed and there is no matting, but the canvas was mounted on a wood frame to make it keep its form.
Anway, I agree that Erika should not try to do this by buying a poster frame at Big-Mart. Those are designed for paper posters, not paintings.
First you need a stretcher. A stretcher is a bit like a frame that goes on the back side of the canvas. You staple the canvas to the stretcher. An art student should be able to help you on how this is done. It’s probably not a good idea to try yourself. If you have a decent high school, with a good art program, or if you have a local college with an art program, they will be more than happy to show you how to do this.
After you canvas is stretched you can purchase a frame. Mats are solely for looks and generally aren’t used on oils.
Duh. Yes, stretcher is the thing that I was thinking of. Mats aren’t needed, and are only used to provide accent colors.
-lv
Even if this thing is on canvas, if there is an unpainted border or margin and no sign of it having ever being stretched such as an absence of nail or staple holes it is likely that you have a print, maybe a pretty fancy print, and not an original painting.
That aside, traditionally oil paintings on canvas or board are simply framed, no mat, no glass. This is because glass traps moisture, which is the enemy of canvas or board supports. Air need to get to the surface of the piece so that it does not become and stay damp. The only purpose served by a mat is to keep the surface from being in contact with the covering glass since a damp surface will glue itself to the glass.
Oil paintings “dry” not by evaporation of water but by the oxidation of the medium which can be one or several of any number of drying oils. Typically the medium for modern (post 14th Century) oil paintings is a combination of linseed oil, dammar varnish and mineral spirits or turpentine. If there is a heavy layer of paint it may take a year for the paint to “dry.” Once the paint is dry the surface should be pretty much impervious. You can actually wash it with soap and water provided you don’t go after it with a Brillo pad. Most people however do varnish the surface once it is completely cured. Varnishing protects the surface from dirt and lets you clean the piece without damaging the paint surface, the same way you varnish a piece of wooden furniture and for the same reason.
Just a warning, restretching a canvas is exacting work if it is to be done right. I would have it done by someone with experience and the right equipment. A good frame shop can be expensive but, if you value the piece, is well worth the expense.
If what you have is a print on canvas textured paper it should be matted and glassed to protect it from dirt.
Print or original, do not expose it to direct sun light. Most pigments will fade in sun light and strong light and some will fade badly. There is a reason that museums and galleries have dim light…
Hmm. There are staple holes in the corners, but after a closer look, I’d believe that this thing is, indeed, a print. If it’s not, it’s a very, very flat painting. Thanks for help!
Erika, is is on canvas? A print on canvas is rare. Most prints are on paper. But a print on paper can be very valuable. I’m guessing that you may have a screen print, in which case it is very susceptible to scratching.
Either way, print or original, you are probably going to want to go to a framing shop. If it is a screen print, consider UV protective glass. It expensive, but you’ll like it.
It is on canvas.
First, IANAF, although my wife is a professional fine art conservator. She however is asleep at the moment so here’s my 2 cents worth. If you are sure that the painting is on canvas, but the unpainted margins are only an inch and a half, it is likely that the canvas used to be larger. The unpainted borders are called tacking margins and they are usually wider that you have described, since they must go over the edges of the stretcher and onto the back side. As previous posters have noted you must first stretch the canvas onto a wooden frame (called a stretcher & available from most artists supply stores) and fasten it with staples (for the old fashioned way, use tacks.) The problem you are likely to have is that the margin isn’t very wide which will make the stretching difficult. I strongly recommend that you consult a higher-end framing store before you proceed.
On another note, you say that you got it rolled up in a tube. Please be careful when unrolling and re-rolling the canvas. If the painting is old, the oil paint can become very brittle. Handle it as little as possible. The painting should be rolled up with the oil (image) side on the inside, so when it is all rolled up you should see the back of the canvas, not the front. If it didn’t come to you this way, don’t force it to curl back the other way.
Smell it, if you can smell oil, then its an oil, if not, its probably a print. or acrylic.
Another way is to look real closely to see if you can see the dot pattern that indicates its a print.
If its a print, you might need to tackle the frame idea in another matter. But I thought that 20x24 canvas wood stretcher frames with no canvas on them which you can get at any art store, are pretty common.
Also, you get a stretcher frame, you would get a pair of 20" sides & then a pair of 24" & put together.
It sounds like it may be a print transferred to canvas. Like Handy said, look for the got pattern. Or look for where it looks like there is a slight edge before the slightly shinier finish meets the matte canvas. Transfers are created by putting a laminate on the surface of the print, then soaking off the layers of paper below; what’s remaining is bonded to canvas under pressure.
20x24 is a standard size available at most craft stores but you are probably better off taking it to a custom framer to have it stretched and framed. Try an independent framer in you area (meaning don’t get hustled by those 50-70% off coupons that some of the chains run).
If you decide to stretch it yourself I can give you some pointers, but you’ll probably be happier if you let someone who knows what they’re doing stretch it. Trust me on that… I’ve had customers who were determined to save a buck and do it themselves, only to bring it to me to fix.
Oops… dot pattern. I frame much better than I type. 
If it’s not an expensive painting, you can frame it yourself very easily (I just did one a few months ago and I’m not a framer). Just buy stretchers (as described above), carefully staple the ends of the canvas around the stretchers (working around so no one point bears more than its share of the stretch). Then use a metal frame deep enough to hold standard canvas stretchers (you just screw the frame together). I bought all the stuff from an online framing supply place (I forget which).
I’m surprised my sister hasn’t jumped in here yet. She does this kinda thing, ya know. I may give her a heads-up.
I didn’t see it, Dave, and it does seem to be adequately answered. It’s hard to advise without seeing the piece and knowing just what it is. At the very least, take it to a good frame shop and find out what you’re dealing with and don’t try and stretch it yourself. If it’s a print you can frame it yourself, but you really need canvas pliers to stretch a painting properly. If the staple holes are only in the corners and not all along the edges of the canvas, it does sound like a print. Although, come to think of it, if the canvas was attached to the back of the stretcher bars, rather than the side (I stretch my canvas that way), the perforated edge may have been cut off.
I would add, incidentally, that I have been taught to roll a painted canvas with the image on the outside, not the inside. It’s less suscetible to cracking if rolled that way. I would also not clean a painting with soap and water since, although the oil paint is waterproof, any cracks in the paint surface would allow water onto the support, which would be very bad for it. I use a chemically treated dry sponge. I’m sure conservators have more sophisticated methods and tools.