Canvas Stretching

Stretching existing art work

Send us your art work, whether artists' originals, or printed reproductions of original work or for commercial displays,  and we will stretch it on our high quality stretchers and ship the finished product back to you or anywhere you wish. You can do either a gallery wrap like the picture show above or normal stretched canvas.

The difference between a gallery wrap and a stretched canvas:

Many people get confused between a gallery wrap and a stretched canvas. Gallery-wrap is a modern style of displaying art over thick wooden bars. It is a stretched canvas that doesn't have any visible staples or nails holding the fabric to the wooden stretcher bars so the painting could be hung unframed.
Stretched canvas is something completely different. In order to have your painting framed it first has to be stretched across stretcher bars. A stretched canvas differs from a gallery wrap. First, the stretcher bars are thinner allowing the staples to show on the sides of the wood. Therefore, unlike the gallery wrap, a stretched canvas is not a finished look to hang an oil painting on the wall.
Gallery-wrap is a very popular way to display art, however, because the edges of the canvas are wrapped over the thick bars, about two inches of the painting from each side are lost in the wrap unless the canvas is prepared with enough extra canvas that will allow the wrap not to cause a loss in the visible painting.In order to minimize the effect of the area lost in the wrapping process, various photo editing techniques are often employed to fabricate additional image or material to be presented on the wrapped edges.
If either of these methods does not suit your needs, or you are looking to do it yourself, you can order a painting unstretched and shipped. This method is cheaper to ship because it is canvas print that is rolled up and shipped in a tube. Not only does it save on shipping costs, but in general costs as well. And a framer from any framing or craft store will have no problem stretching and framing the unstretched canvas.
Normally,stretched canvas will mounted with frame,then it will look nice and strong.

Below: Gallery Wrap (left) Normal Stretched canvas (right)

Stretching blank canvases

If you are an artist that prefers not to do the work of stretching and preparing the canvas, let us do it for you.  We can make any size and any number of canvases you want and stretch and prepare them to your specifications.  All you'll have to do is paint!

Art on Canvas with Frame

SINGLE MOULDING

When a single moulding is used, consider that it may need to make up for everything that is not there. For example, mats and fillets would add to the color, scale, and texture of your design if the same art was on paper. The single moulding you choose can offset those missing elements if it has a contrasting lip, wider profile, and perhaps some texture or ornamentation.

LINER and FRAME

Liners are to canvases what a mat is to a print on paper. Both serve as a border that provides a breathing space or area of visual relief so the frame doesn’t crowd the art and the art can be focused on without distraction from other elements in the decor. Most liners today are fabric covered but the first liners were gilded. Simple flat gilded profiles are still used as the liner of choice inside of finished corner frames. 

STACKED MOULDING COMBINATION

For hundreds of years, two or more mouldings have often been combined to create one frame. Combinations of mouldings can be used to add width, color, pattern, etc

FLOAT FRAME

A float frame allows you to present the art without covering the edge as a standard frame will. When used alone, a float provides the most minimal frame design. However, you can add other frames around the float to add scale and personality to your design.

A PLATFORM

“Gallery Wraps” are popular today. This means the art continues down the outside edge of the canvas. A typical framing treatment would hide it. If you don’t frame it, it can look unfinished like a house without landscaping or a car without tires. By placing the canvas on top of a frame, you provide the finishing touch without covering any of the art.

FRAME ON A MAT IN A FRAME

We typically do not recommend using mats with art on canvas, but this is an exception. This mat is linen so it will hold up to exposure. It is a solid piece without a window opening and it is glued to a foamboard backing so it can't buckle. This is a good technique to increase overall size due to the adjustability of the mat borders and it is a fresh, unique look.

Additional Frame Design Ideas for Canvas

As seen in the 2011 Framing Fashion Show...
One print on canvas was cut in four and framed as a grouping using liners and frames.

Tip: 

Art on canvas is rarely covered with glass or acrylic. Exceptions may include canvases that are valuable, fragile or when hanging in high risk areas where they might be touched, bumped, or subject to airborne pollutants such as smoke or grease.