how to frame art work

Hi Maxell, Welcome to A2k!

Framing is an individual choice, based on quite a numer of factors.
Do you make your own canvases or are they of regular sizes?
What look do you want to have when completed?
With the sheetrock, Id be more concerned at the size/weight issue and the anchoring/hanging aspects.
Are you handy...can you make your own?

The canvases are pre streched 16x20 mostly, with frames i was thing of buying molding from home depot and nailing it to the wooden frame of the canvas (i dont knw the technical term) would that work?

They're called stretchers, and I've never seen molding nailed to them, at least not in a structural sense. You might check out rockler.com. They have a device for mitering the frames and furnish framing material as well. Their search function is horrible, but persistance should see you through.

So far as nailing to sheetrock - forget it.

thanks so much ill check the site out asap

what is sheetrock??????

Personally I don't frame work on canvas. Are the nails/staples on the back or on the sides? I NEVER use canvas with nails on the sides (I prefer to make my own anyway).

If it is stapled at the back you just need to paint the edges a toning colour or the natural canvas colour so that it looks clean and untouched.

sheetrock is the stuff your walls are made out of (i use it alot becuase i can normally aford canvas and for some reason my base ment is full of it but its hard to mount on the walls because i just cant figure out how to) as for nails and things on the canvas its pretty basic its like the ones that are on sale.

sheetrock is the stuff your walls are made out of (i use it alot becuase i can normally aford canvas and for some reason my base ment is full of it but its hard to mount on the walls because i just cant figure out how to) as for nails and things on the canvas its pretty basic its like the ones that are on sale.

doesn't explain it to me though! it isn't what we call anything in England.

Is it like thin pressed board? (hardboard)

It looks like compressed chalk, plaster or somesuch. Mebbe plasterboard?

aaah yes plasterboard. thanks. mmm difficult to frame then.

Do you seal it before painting on it? or use it in a sort of fresco way???

I would think you would have to make proper mitred frames.

Sometimes cheaper materials are actually more expensive in the end!

or could the edges be sanded smooth and painted?

I genarally dont prime it, and i primarily use a latex basesd paint on it (like the kind you can get in home depot or a hardware store) yes, framing seems to get alittle expesive. yes, although im unsure how to apply to frame to the painting do you think you have any ideas on how to? thanks for the responwse

Think seriously about the image that you are
framing and frame accordingly....Some images
may lend themselves to "living room" frames,
others definately do not!

Framing! Don't get me started. Framing is just one of those things that painters have to live with. They say suffering is good for your character. The cost is ultimately passed on to the buyer, but having to front the money for a studio overflowing with paintings is worse than investing in Teapot Dome shares.

Sheetrock? C'mon, the weight makes it an impractical surface for anything of any reasonable size The part of the sheetrock you'd paint on is paper. If you're going to paint on paper, why add the twenty pounds of excess chalk? To get the surface to accept your paint properly you need to gesso it. You can gesso paper, though paper is not a very good support for most paintings. If I remember properly, one of the later Hudson River School painters did some nice work on heavy paper. Moran?

A better support, though still a bit on the heavy side, is masonite. I'm generally using four coats of gesso and finding that it makes a great surface to work on. Masonite panels are very similar to using wooden panels. You need to gesso all sides of the panel to insure against warping. For small sizes, under a couple of feet square, you may be alright by just gessoing one side. For larger sizes rigid supports may be needed. I'm doing a lot of panoramic landscapes at the moment (2'X4'), and for those paintings I mount the masonite onto a mitered frame of 1"X2" pine. The whole, including the supporting frame, is covered with gesso. I paint all the way around the support frame. This is very economical. A 4'X8' sheet of masonite costs less than $20, compare that to the most economical canvas. By mounting the masonite panel onto a wooden support frame, no traditional frame is required ... a very big savings.

I have a contact who imports ready-made frames from Mexico. He comes into Albuquerque from Texas every quarter and parks his big rig in a motel parking lot. When he's in town I try to buy the frames in advance that I expect to be needing for exhibitions, etc., during the following four months. Last time he was in town I got 8-10 frames for under $300. These were nice frames, mostly polished wood. One 36"X48, two 24"X36, two 24"X30", two wide gold frames 18"X30", and a couple smaller wooden frames.

I go garage selling on a regular basis looking for frames that can either be used as is, or refurbished. A bit of wood stain, and a coat of polyethylene can work wonders. Some need to be tightend, and a few can be cut down to a smaller size on the old power miter saw. Wood putty/filler is useful to repair little nicks and knocks. Sometimes I'll gesso the frame, and give it a coat of gold, or copper paint before sealing it up. Plain glossy enamel can also make a "winner" out of a "dog". The problem is that most often the frames I find are too small for my paintings, or they are more suitable for drawings/prints. I still buy them because I have drawers full of old drawings.

You can make your own frames ... if you are a handy carpenter and you have the tools. Finding suitable molding to make frames from has, in my experience, been a problem. You might use a router to cut an insert for the painting, and then miter the ends. Be careful with your measurements because they are really easy to mess up. Too large an error, and the painting "falls through" the frame. Too small, and you can't get the painting properly installed. A big part of making your own frames is in the finishing. A very large number of the homemade frames I've seen are really terrible, and would not be suitable for galleries or exhibitions where there is a high standard of professionalism required for acceptance. Like amateur slides, amateur faming can kill you dead as a doornail.

There are also kits available, but I haven't used them very much. Ask your local art supply merchant for details.

I think masonite is what we call hardboard (thin, flexible, smooth on one side and rough and hairy on the other?) Asherman's way of using it is excellent and it's very sensible to put the the support on before painting - you can at this stage stretch cotton or scrim over it and staple on the back, then prime it. This gives you a canvas like surface to work on. I've had brilliant result with a thin old linen tea towel pva'd over the support.

As for framing on the thicker board i think you may need to 'float' it within a frame - can you attach screws to the back of it? if you can, then you could get a frame that it 'sits' in and attach it with screws or plates from the back.

Would it be possible to make a frame out of simple timber that fits tightly and then use loads of pva/super glue to attach it???

without seeing it, it is difficult to envisage exactly what you could do.

A regional painter, whose work I much admire, glues fine linen to 36"x36" oak panels. He lays down a thin coating of glue and works the air bubbles out from center to edges, and just trims the edges with a sharp knife. I think he uses only two coats of gesso. In effect, he is making his own super-fine canvas board. He mentioned the name of the archival glue he uses, but I've forgotten and don't expect to talk with the guy again before Spring. I asked my local supply store, but they didn't have a clue. Nice to know that you don't have to buy an expensive roll of fine linen.

The idea of "floating" the picture by screwing it into the middle of a larger and thiner panel that might be more conventionally framed may workout fine. However, the weight and impracticality of using sheetrock as a support is still a non-start idea.

mmm I think i understand what sheetrock is and if so i agree, it is called something else here. Having done a painting that is obviously worth framing, on this occasion it is worth working out a viable option

A good Website for inexpensive ready mades:

www.pictureframes.com

They will also cut mats and have a mat cutter at $109.00.

For what it's worth Vivian, sheetrock is made of processed gypsum, and Asherman's observations are correct, from my nonartist point of view. Masonite is a very good grade of hardboard. Just a little more extraneous information to clutter the mind, I guess.

art
I have yet to work on gessoed plywood. Any suggestions or warnings?