How To Frame An Oil Painting

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Framing an oil painting comes down to choosing an appropriate frame, installing the frame correctly, and hanging it in your home. Y'all'll have to choose between a minimalistic, traditional, or antique frame based on the mode of your composition. To frame the painting, layer the canvas behind a grit cover and record. Once yous've framed your painting, hang it in a safe location inside your home where it looks good to you!

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Select a floating or baguette frame for a minimalistic, modern await. Baguette frames refer to flat panels of wood or metal that fit forth the edges of your painting without obscuring whatsoever portion of the image. Float frames utilize a mat to set your prototype inside a unproblematic frame.^[i] These frames provide a modern expect, and differ from traditional frames by adding very little visual impact on their own. They await sort of like siding or open up borders for a piece of art.^[2]
- Float and baguette frames tend to emphasize the work itself, since the frames tend to contain few details on their own.
- Float frames can make a work appear more striking. The mat helps isolate the work in the eye of the wall, making it stand out more.
- Baguette frames can make a work look dramatic. The minimalistic frame lifts the image off of the wall a few inches, which tin get in seem similar the work is literally popping out.
- The difference between a baguette and float frame is whether there is any space between the canvass and the frame itself. Float frames accept a space, which is sometimes filled in with a mat, while baguette frames exit no room betwixt the frame and the painting.
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Apply a traditional frame for classic landscapes and portraits. Traditional frames come in all types of shapes, sizes, and designs. They tend to be metal or forest, and add an additional visual chemical element to a painting's presentation. Choose a frame that you recollect works well aslope your image without cartoon the viewer'south attention away from what's important.^[3]
- Traditional frames cover the edges of a sail. They also tend to have pocket-size details and patterns built into the frame. These small elements modify the way that a viewer perceives a work.
- When in doubt, opt for a simpler traditional frame. You can ever upgrade the frame later when you need a alter of pace.
Tip: Try to friction match the aesthetic of the frame with the style of your oil painting. If the painting is hyper realistic, you probably don't want an abstract frame with a lot of designs. However, a unique frame with a lot of free-flowing inlays could work well with a piece of abstruse expressionism.

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Become an antique frame for high-end or older oil paintings. For older works or paintings with a high price tag, choose an antique frame to really brand your work stand out. Antique frames tend to accept high levels of particular and create a hitting impression on their own, which can demand attention equally soon every bit the viewer enters the room.^[iv]
- Antique frames tend to be accept expressive designs and strange colors. These tin help stress the specialness of a historical or expensive slice of fine art.
- Look for antique frames at antique shops.
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Display your fine art without a frame if the sides of the canvas are painted. If the canvas comes with a prebuilt frame and the artist elected to paint details forth the sides of the canvas, you lot probably don't demand a frame. The artist made a conscious decision to extend the prototype past the edge of the canvas, and roofing it could reduce the impact of an image.^[5]
- Yous can tell if a framed canvas was meant to exist hung on its own if the artist installed hangers forth the behind of the frame.
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Mensurate your painting and purchase a frame for it. Measure the height, width, and depth of the painting that y'all're going to frame with a measuring tape. Write the measurements down on a small-scale piece of paper so that yous don't forget the sizes when you're buying a frame. Always check a potential frame to make sure that the listed measurements are for the interior of the frame, not the exterior.
- Buy a frame that you think volition expect proficient with your painting online, at a framing store, or at a local arts and crafts shop.
- If you lot painted the image yourself, wait 6-12 months before framing it. Oil pigment tin accept a long time to fully settle, and framing it earlier the unabridged image is dry out can distort and damage your composition.
- If your painting is on a piece of paper, the depth of the frame doesn't matter. All the same, you lot may desire to buy a mat for it to hide the edges of the paper.
2
Unpack your frame and dissever the frame from the bankroll. Place your materials on a clean work surface that won't scratch the frame. Remove the plastic or cardboard wrapping and separate the pieces of the frame.^[6]
- Y'all tin can put a towel or piece of butcher newspaper down on a table to prevent scratching your frame.
- If you lot want to protect the front of your painting, you can use a spray or liquid varnish to the front end of your canvas. Varnish can change the appearance of some oil colors though, so spot check the varnish first on a dried painted surface somewhere else.
- If your painting has small metal tabs embedded in the interior edges of the frame, flip them so that they're facing up. These are called points, and they're designed to hold your art in the frame.
Tip: It's not generally recommended to cover an oil painting with glass because it can trap dust that could ruin the artwork, merely you can use it if you lot have a painted sheet of paper or panel board. If you exercise opt to use it, clean and dust the within of the glass with a glass-cleaning solution and dry cloth before putting the painting in the frame.
3
Lower the painting face up downward into the inside of the frame. Flip your frame so that it's facing downwards. Then, slowly lower your painting into the lips on the interior edges of the frame. Carefully driblet the painting in i corner at a time until you're at the terminal border. Gently lower information technology and make whatever necessary adjustments to center the image in the frame.
- To place a canvas in a floater frame, lower your sail face-up into the frame, and clip it on the back with the plough buttons. Some floater and baguette frames come with spacers to make the spacing in the front even. Screw the turn buttons into the canvass frame with wood screws.^[7]
4
Place a layer of acid-free paper on the back of your sheet. You can use butcher newspaper or a big sheet of standard paper to cover the backside of the canvas. This will protect the painting from grit, moisture, and insects. Cutting out a piece of paper using scissors or a paper cutter based on the size of your painting. Spread your paper out and fold it as needed to make information technology fit in the interior opening of the frame.
- The newspaper will be flattened and covered by the cardboard, so don't worry if it isn't pretty.
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Add together your cardboard backing and press downwardly lightly to remove the air. Put your paper-thin back on summit of the paper and give it a light press with the pads of your fingers to remove any air pockets. Agree the cardboard into the frame and flip your painting over for a moment to make certain that it's even and centered in the frame.^[viii]
- If your sail did non come up with a cardboard back, then it is not intended to be installed with one.
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Fit your frame past installing your points or bending them dorsum. Depending on the make of your frame, it either came with a carve up bag of points, or with flexible points already installed in the interior sides of the frame. If your points are pre-installed, curve them downwardly with your finger and press them into the surface of the paper-thin to lock your painting in place.
- If you accept to install them on your ain, utilize a putty knife or flathead screwdriver and a hammer to punch the points into the frame and seal it. Put a bespeak perpendicular to the interior edge of the frame. Put your putty pocketknife or flathead against the tip, and lightly tap information technology into the frame to install it in place.
- Some frames, and most floater and baguette frames, come with plow buttons. Plough buttons only need to be rotated to close the frame, although floater frames usually demand to be screwed in.
- There are specialty tools that punch points into a frame like a nail gun. Consider getting a frame plumbing equipment tool or point commuter to make the process easier
7
Seal the back of your painting with packing tape. If you desire an added layer of protection, yous tin can tape the entirety of your frame'due south backside with packing tape in horizontal layers. Embrace each section of your frame with tape, flattening it every bit you apply information technology. This volition add together an additional layer of protection confronting dust, moisture, and insects.
- Taping the backside of your frame is non mandatory, simply it volition make the back stay flat over time.
- Don't comprehend up any hanging mounts if they're already installed.
8
Install your hanging mount on the frame if you take to. Most frames come with the hanging mount congenital in to the cardboard or frame itself. If it isn't already installed, screw D-rings, a wire hanger, or a sawtooth hanger into the wood of the frame with a drill and small screws. To practice this, select a stable and flat section well-nigh the peak quarter of the frame and measure two symmetrical slots on contrary sides of the frame. Drill screws through the opening in the band or hanger to affix it to the frame.
- The screws and hanging mountain should come with the materials needed to hang it. If it doesn't, y'all can buy them at a framing or hardware store.
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Use starting time clips without a dorsum for pre-framed canvases. If your painting already has a wooden frame built into it and you still want to add together a different frame, you can utilise a hollow-back frame and offset clips. Afterward you've measured and caused your frame, place it flat on a work surface, with the finished side facing downwards. Place your canvass inside of the frame and install the clips.^[9]
- Put an offset prune every six–10 inches (15–25 cm) on each side, and screw them in with wood screws with one of the tabs on the frame and one of the tabs on the canvass.
- Install a dust cover if you'd like by laying double-sided record on each edge and pressing butcher paper downward along the edges before cut it.
- Attach a D-Ring or sawtooth hanger the top of the frame to make hanging uncomplicated.
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i
Avoid hanging your painting near shelves, doors, or in tight corridors. Don't identify your painting on a wall where information technology is likely to be bumped or knocked around. Areas near shelves and doors are likely to be touched by accident, and tight hallways may put your painting at risk if people aren't looking where they're going.
- Placing your painting behind a door is dangerous. If anyone opens the door confronting the wall, it could permanently harm your painting.
ii
Hang your painting away from direct heat, moisture, or sunlight. Oil paint does not do well when information technology's wet or hot. Don't hang your painting over radiators or air workout units. To prevent your painting's colors from being washed out, don't hang it directly next to a window.
- Upwards-lights and spotlights won't damage your painting if they're LED or CFL lightbulbs.
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Place your painting in a highly-visible area where yous think it looks good. There are no rules when it comes down to choosing a room for your painting. You're going to live with it every day, so place information technology somewhere where you can savor it. If you lot're non sure where to put it, consider the color of the furniture in the room and inquire yourself whether the colors in the painting volition compliment it.

Tip: You can always change the location of a painting! There's no need to worry virtually getting it right the kickoff fourth dimension. Effort a location out by leaving the painting on the wall for two-iii days to run into how you feel nearly it.

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Question

What is the best kind of frame for a painting?

Renée Plevy is an Internationally Acclaimed Portrait Artist from New York/Palm Beach who has painted The Chiliad Dames of Palm Beach and various celebrities and customs leaders. With over 50 years of experience, Renée specializes in painting realistically in oil and capturing the soul of the person. She has studied under internationally renowned portrait artists John Howard Sanden, David Leffel, Robert Beverly Hale, Clyde Smith, and Leonid Gervits. Renée is featured in over 68 shows and galleries including a one-adult female museum evidence at the Paterson Museum. She has garnered numerous awards including "Artist of the Year" from The Bloomfield Art League and Get-go Prize from the Boca Raton Museum Artist's Guild. Renée has even painted a portrait of celebrity, Vanilla Water ice. She likewise teaches at the Boca Raton Museum Fine art School - formerly at SVA in Manhattan.

Portrait Artist & Educator

Expert Reply

Information technology actually depends on the decor in the room where yous want to hang information technology. Make sure the frame matches the fashion of the rest of the room's artful.
Question

What is a box frame?

I assume yous are talking almost a shadow box, which is similar to a motion picture frame, but deeper. Information technology is fabricated to hold and display items that you may desire to preserve such as a gift given to y'all.
Question

What is the name of the piece of wrapped molding between the frame and the painting?

The slice of wrapped molding is called a liner.
Question

I've seen videos where the paper in the back is cut so the painting can" breathe." Is that necessary?

No. The holes in the back aren't necessary. That is an old, outdated framing practise which does zippo beneficial.
Question

Can I glue a canvas oil painting onto a backboard?

You should not employ gum with sail because the ingredients in the glue, even naturally sourced, can soak into the sheet material, causing discoloration. Even a fabric glue is not recommended. If the painting is properly framed, the pressure of the securing hardware should keep the frame and backboard compressed and nicely in place.
Question

Does a canvas painting need a backboard inside the frame?

Phishtacheo

Community Answer

If yous tin can somehow keep information technology inside the canvass without it falling out, you might not need a backboard. If yous desire to prevent the back of your painting from getting dusty and/or muddy, then employ a backboard.
Question

I have a canvas painting with a white border. When it's framed should the border show?

No, it should non. Information technology would look amend that way.
Question

Should an oil painting exist framed with glass or not?

No. Varnishing protects the stale surfaces of an oil painting and the textures left past the brush marks. Putting glass atop an oil painting merely damages that texture and also creates unnecessary glare and reflections. A dried and well-varnished painting can even be gently dusted and gently wiped with a soft, damp textile (no cleaning products!) if needed.

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If y'all don't similar the idea of framing a painting on your ain, take information technology to a framing shop and take them exercise it for yous. Framing shops carry a wide variety of frames in a range of materials and designs. The framer will be able to walk you through the available options based on the way, size, and energy of your oil painting. Proceed your mind open while browsing potential frames, and allow the store'due south associate know when y'all see a frame that you like so that they put it aside for further exam as you browse.^[x]