Handling canvases: tricks of the trade

Written by chris pink on November 6, 2014 in Picture Framing

The art of wrapping a canvas used to be something known only to a select picture framing few. Nowadays, the internet demystifies all, canvases included – you can quickly learn to stretch one over a frame yourself, or you can order them pre-printed with images you took on holiday last week or month.

Choosing and ordering canvases is all fine and well, but what about maintenance and handling? In this blog post, we cover a few things that help keep your canvases looking better for longer.

Care with corners and edges

Printing techniques in 2014 are sophisticated, with vivid colours and realistic imagery. But that doesn’t mean that your canvas will be invincible! To ensure it stays in prime condition, be careful when handling corners and edges where the paint may be easy to wear away.

Likewise, take care when wrapping a canvas for a friend this Christmas. Even more so…don’t place anything heavy on the image side when the canvas is on its back! This could cause the material to sink, ruining that all important tension in a matter of seconds.

Temperature considerations

Modern canvases are hardy. That said, hanging one above a source of heat won’t bring best results. Try and keep your canvas at a steady temperature at all times. Avoid hanging your canvas in a porch or somewhere that suffers from serious temperature fluctuations.

Use those corner wedges

People who are new to canvases are often bamboozled by the small plastic bags that tend to be found inside the inner corners. These odd bags, containing strange mini wooden wedges, serve an important purpose…so be sure not to throw yours away! The name of the game with these is keeping things taut, of course.

When the canvas becomes slack, as is inevitable over a period of time, slot these into the applicable spaces, which can be found in the inside corners of the back of the frame. Bang these a couple of times and you’ll be amazed at how much your canvas comes back to life.

 

Comments are closed.