A couple of weeks ago I wrote about dealing with unconventionally shaped wall art. So, to follow up on this whole wall art topic, I’m gonna talk about framing canvases (gasp!). There are two paintings in my apartment that are on canvas. The first is a big painting done by my friend Madeline Donahue (she’s great)  for my boyfriend (he’s great), Josh’s, album cover. Its really wonderful and its also 3ft x 3ft! The second one is a velvet painting of a guy on a dirt bike that we bought at a store called the “Gay Dolphin” in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I wanted to frame these so that they would look finished but I didn’t want to do anything that was going to cost too much or would detract from the art itself. Enter strip framing.

Strip framing is a technique a lot of artists use to finish off their canvases. It’s pretty easy and very cheap and the overall effect is a simple, clean presentation that is subtle but makes a huge difference.

What you will need:

• Four thin pieces of wood – the cheapest is “lattice stripping” although any flat thin pieces of wood you can find will work. I even saw some at an art store (see the pic I snapped on the right).
• A hand saw. These are very cheap and easy to use, so don’t be intimidated!
• Small brads. Brads are just a type of nail. Be sure to buy ones that are thick enough to go through your wood pieces.
• A pen

Now, here’s how to do it:

Image From Studio Chalk

1. First, you need to consider the orientation of the canvas because the top and bottom peices of wood will need to be a different length from the left and right pieces.
2. Lay a piece of wood across the top of the canvas and mark where it should be cut.
3. Next, cut the top piece at a 90 degree angle. You may want to have another person there to help you keep the wood steady as you cut it. And you can cut the wood in your apartment pretty easily by using your dining room table, desk or any flat surface. (You want the wood to hang off the edge of the flat surface so that you can cut it, so you should not inflict any damage on your table top…although I wouldn’t do it on a really nice surface)
4. Once the wood is cut, nail it onto the top of the canvas using two to four brads
5. Next, repeat steps 2 through 4 on the bottom of the canvas.
6. For the left and right sides of the canvas you will go through the same process you did for the top and bottom, but you need to take into account the added length of the top and bottom pieces of wood when you mark the cutting point.
7. Once all four pieces of wood are attached you’re done! Hang that sucker up!