Canvas is a popular medium for painters both novice and famous. Once the artwork is complete, it is time to decide how best to frame it for others to admire. While traditional fine art framing is great for some paintings, other paintings on canvas look best with their edges visible in a floater frame or with no frame at all.
Canvas stretching refers to placing a blank canvas on stretcher bars before the artist begins painting, while a gallery wrap involves wrapping a completed, loose canvas around stretcher bars so that it can be hung. At Rosenbaum Framing, we offer both canvas stretching and gallery wrap services for artists and their completed paintings.
The Different Types of Gallery Wraps
When it comes to a gallery wrap, you have three options: a cloned edge, a plain canvas edge, or an edge made from part of the original image. Some artists strongly prefer one method over another, and different artwork may have different needs.
A cloned border gallery wrap is when the edges of the image are duplicated, copied, or mirrored from the original image by the artist and wrapped around the stretcher bars. With this method, the whole image is still visible from the front, but the cloned edges create a continuous look. Staples are then added to the back of the canvas to hold it tightly onto the stretcher bars. A cloned gallery wrap is a good option when you want the entire image to be visible from the front and don’t want blank canvas to show on the sides of the painting.
Another option is a gallery wrap with blank canvas edges. The completed image is visible from the front and the unpainted canvas edges are wrapped around the stretcher bars. While this type of gallery wrap ensures that the full image is still visible from the front, it may look unfinished to some people and is not the best option for paintings that will be framed with a floater frame, where the edges are visible.
The final option is a gallery wrap where the outer edges of the original artwork are wrapped around the stretcher bars. This choice involves pulling the canvas around the stretcher bars so that no bare canvas is showing. Staples are then added in the back to hold the canvas in place. Because the edges of the gallery wrap are part of the original painting, this type of gallery wrap is best for images with less detail on the edges.
At Rosenbaum Framing, we are here to help with all your framing needs. With art framing services in Boca that include everything from initial consulting to delivery and installation, we can help you from start to finish. To find out how we may be able to help, contact us today.