Framing Your Painting

Framing is a very personal thing. Some people want to have their painting framed and others prefer the clean lines of an unframed piece. I can frame the piece for you or you can take it to your local framer for framing.

This is a quick look at some of the framing options.

Traditional Framing

Panels, stretched canvases, boards and paintings on paper or canvas sheets can all be framed in a traditional frame. A traditional frame is where the painting goes into the frame from the back, so a small bit of the painting around the edges will be hidden.
These two oil paintings are in a white Avignon frame and a Driftwood frame.

Oil and Acrylic paintings on canvas, panels and boards don't need glass in their frames as they'll have been varnished. If you want glass in the frame a separator can be added to keep the glass from touching the painting surface. Paintings on paper should be framed behind glass to protect the paper.

A Painting On Paper Or Canvas Sheet

Paintings on paper or sheets of canvas can be framed with a mount and a frame behind glass. The purpose of the mount is to keep the glass from touching the surface of the painting. It prevents damage from humidity building up between the glass and the painting surface.
The cat is an acrylic painting on canvas and the sheep is a watercolour on paper.

Contemporary Framing

Shadowbox Frames For Paintings On Board

Paintings on board or metal can be framed in a shadowbox frame. These frames are deep box frames. The board is mounted on the back of the frame with hidden fittings so it seems to hover over the background and casts a shadow on the back of the frame, there is glass in the front of the frame and a spacer keeps the glass and the board apart. This kind of frame gives the painting white space around it.

This is an acrylic painting on board in a shadowbox frame. the edge of the board is painted silver and the edge of the frame is painted purple.

This is a resin painting on a board in a shadowbox frame. The edge of the frame is painted black.

Tray Frames For Paintings On Board

A tray frame is designed for paintings on board. The painting goes in from the front, so like the shadowbox frame you can see the edges of the board. But a tray frame has a small gap between the edge of the painting and the frame, and its doesn't have glass.
The roses are painted on a 10x8 inch board and framed in a tray frame.

Floater Frames For Paintings On Wood Panel Or Canvas

Contemporary floater frames are designed for stretched canvases and wood panels. They give the illusion that the painting is floating in front of the frame. In fact the paintings are fitted to the frame from the front to give this effect. Floater frames have a small gap between the edge of the panel of canvas and the edge of the frame. Depending on the frame, the gap can be an inch or just a few millimeters. They don't have glass.
The hare is a resin painting on a panel in a white floater frame. The cat is an acrylic painting on a panel framed in a black floater frame.

  
A close up of a painting on a panel framed in a white floater frame.