Wanting to Decorate Your Home With Artwork or Photos

Are you wanting to decorate your home with artwork or photos and cannot decide between printing your photos on paper and framing behind glass or choosing to print your artwork or photo on canvas and displaying canvas frames? This is a common dilemma and one that can only be answered by personal choice and some information into what canvas frames actually are.

So we all know what a printed photo or artwork looks like when its framed behind glass but we always find customers asking what is canvas stretching? The team at Portfolio Picture Framers have years of experience in the art of canvas stretching and it can be explained quite simply. We take a roll of canvas that has an artwork or photograph painted or printed on it and stretch it around a wooden frame or what is called a ‘stretcher bar’ so the actual canvas looks essentially frameless. The canvas is pulled extremely tight and then stapled onto the wooden frame. A hanger is attached and its ready to hang on your wall. Now this process seems very simple and many people have told us that they were going to do it themselves as ‘how hard could it be’ but as they have discovered it sounds much easier that it is and there are various specialised tools and skills needed to create a flawless stretched canvas.

Stretched canvas artwork is becoming increasingly popular as a minimalistic way to display printed or painted artworks, family photos and scenery photos. It has also increased in popularity with overseas travellers bringing back cheap artworks from talented street artists in places like South East Asia, Europe and South America. 16th century artists started painting on canvas to easily transport their works rather than on wood panels. Maybe this is why I have always thought paintings on canvas always look more luxurious and timeless than an artwork printed on paper and displayed behind glass. Artworks or paintings on canvas also have a longevity about them that framed art and photos don’t – the style never goes out of date as you are simply looking at the artwork and nothing else. A framed artwork or photo will obviously have a coloured frame around the outside that is prone to date, no matter how simplistic you try and make it.

If you are unsure as to whether you want the simplistic look of a stretched canvas or a frame to add some extra definition to it, we have a solution! After you have stretched your canvas you have the option of adding a L-Bar, a frame that is moulded in the shape of an L, and it sits around the edge of the canvas stretcher bar adding a touch of elegance and a distinctive edge to frame your canvas. You may also choose to add any other frame from our extensive range and if you ever decide to return to the simplistic look of the stretched canvas you can simply remove the frame. This gives you a myriad of options for many years and styles to come!