Framing is almost as important as the painting itself. While people can disagree on the color or style of frame there are some basic approaches to framing that makes your work look more professional.
These are the steps I take when framing a painting
When I remove it from the plastic the first thing I do is put my name on it. This prevents galleries and venues from swapping my nice metal leaf or in some cases gold leaf frame with finished corners for some cheap chopped frame from Graphic Dimensions or Michaels. I also put the title on the back of the painting and a sticker with contact info. This allows collectors to find me since most galleries nowadays don’t give out collector info to the artists.
Next I put rubber bumpers or felt bumpers on all the corners so the frame doesn’t leave marks on the wall. If I have a case where I am framing stretched canvas I put them on the corners of the stretched canvas if it makes contact with the wall instead of the frame when it hangs.
Never nail your paintings into your frames if someone wants to swap the frame down the line you have to use something that doesn’t hurt the wood. I use offset clips or S clips to do the job. This way I can swap my paintings in and out of the frame with just a screwdriver.
I keep a number of sizes for the different sizes of my paintings. Because this image is on linen panel the clip is facing down into the frame.
If it was stretched linen I would flip the clip over so it stood out away from the frame to hold the canvas.
Once I screw in the clips I place the wire holders and attach those to the frame low enough that the wire will form a triangle shape when hanging but not stick out above the frame.
Next I get my picture hanging wire and attach one side to the wire holder. I do this by looping the wire thought the holders ring twice and then twist it back along the wire.
I’m done and the picture is ready to hang on the wall. Only 24 more to go for the show this week at Narmada.