AboutJennifer Pierce Expertise I can answer any questions related to picture framing, art display, or art installation, including very large pieces, canvas stretching, shadow boxing, needlework mounting, and just about any type of dimensional or non-dimensional artwork display. The only questions I cannot answer pertain to fine artwork restoration (e.g. your Van Gogh oil painting is faded and you want it to be restored to the original brilliance--call a reputable museum for that).
Experience I have been in the picture framing business since 1987, with a specialization in hospitality (hotels) and commercial office installations. I have worked on artwork for nearly every major hotel and design firm in the world and have designed some pretty wild installations. Additionally, I have experience with almost every type of conservation technique
Education/Credentials All of my education was acquired in the field.
Question I purchased a print on canvas that needs to be stretched and then framed. My question is, my wife wants it matted also, how do I go about this if the canvas is on stretcher bars or can you suggest a better way to frame and mate a canvas print?
Answer I have been asked variations of this question many, many times, so you are not alone in wondering how to deal with this. I'll try to give you the info you need to make a good decision.
Here is the "real" answer: Traditionally, canvases are never matted, ever. They aren't designed to be matted. Canvases traditionally are stretched, as you already know, and then framed.
At the most, you could have a fabric liner in a wooden frame. It's basically a simple wood frame covered tightly and smoothly in fabric, usually linen, and usually in a very limited palette of a few natural beiges and creams.
All of these restrictions are because of a million reasons related to framing paintings, especially oil paintings, which I won't bore you with right now because you have a print, not a painting.
The advent of prints-on-canvas has muddied the issue. They're not paintings, so you don't have to worry about the logistics of framing it like a painting. Putting it under glass won't hurt it; you can even mat it if you want to, and the print won't be physically harmed unless it's abused during the framing process. However, canvases are meant to be stretched, and any time you don't stretch them, you have to somehow get around the fact that the canvas is going to sag, wrinkle, and just behave differently from paper in general while in the frame.
If you think your wife would like the compromise of using a frame with a liner, I recommend you do that, just to avoid having to go through all the hoops of circumventing the canvas nature of the piece. Custom liners can be purchased in colors other than the ecru I mentioned. This way you can stretch the piece as it was intended to be and still have the effect your wife is looking for.
If nothing else will do but a regular mat and glass, you might be able to talk your framer into stretching the canvas like a needlework, specifically a cross-stitch. I typically stretch those needleworks over a piece of acid-free foamcore with rustproof pins. You'll probably need something stronger, like gatorfoam, which is a completely plastic version of foamcore.
Now having said that, I wouldn't recommend trying to mat a canvas print that has been stretched on a board. It is done by hand; canvases stretched on bars are done with a wide pliers and a lot of muscle power. There's a big difference in the amount of tension you can get with the two methods. No matter how tightly you try to stretch it by hand, you cannot beat the canvas pliers for the tightest look, and it won't be very stable. It will probably sag over time.
You can wet-mount a canvas to gatorboard. This will be the flattest. However, you can't be sure that the glue will be able to bond to the canvas; it depends what the canvas has been previously coated with. The results may be great, they may be disappointing. Your framer can look at it and may be able to offer a prediction as to how it will behave. You may have difficulty finding someone who can wet-mount anything; it's rather a passe method, but if you look you will find someone who can do it. It's a brown paste.
You can mat right over the print after it's been needlework- or wet-mounted. Any decent framer will know how to frame it once it's been mounted.
For the best-looking, most stable effect, though, I would ask the printer to just reprint it on good paper and just mat and frame that. This way you don't have to fight the nature of the substrate and you can focus on the way the piece looks framed in your home.
I hope this helps. I know I didn't exactly answer your question, but I hope I gave you enough info to make a good decision on your own.
