How to stretch a canvas using Stretchers | Paint by numbers

Most people are stunned to hear the Da Vinci’s painting had portions mapped out with colour codes assigned to each area. Yup, paint by number is not a methodology that should be scoffed at. Textile designers use this methodology as do graphic designers. It’s a secret of the art world and this means your creation should be treated like the exhibition worthy artwork that it is.

Protecting Your Treasure

You may not have enough wall space to hang all your artworks hence wish to store some and change up what’s on display depending on the season or your whim.  You may be wanting to ship it to a friend or, indeed, to a client. The most space-saving option is to roll up the canvas.  This comes with risks though and is not recommended.

The paint would need to be dry.  How dry is dry? Super dry, cured.  Sometimes you may touch it and think it is dry but, alas, it has an undetectable tackiness that will either stick to the rolled-up canvas or will take an imprint from the canvas. 

Rolling it also runs the risk of it being held to firmly, denting the sides of the ‘roll’ and cracking the paint.

It’s just not worth it to risk it after all those hours of careful work.

Mounting Your Work Onto A Stretcher Frame

You can tackle the framing of your artwork onto a stretcher yourself with ease.  You will need a DIY stretcher frame kit (with a matching size for your canvas), a staple gun, a tape measure and, if you are feeling very precise, a T square. There are many videos on YouTube, giving tutorials on how to do the mounting. Simple and quick with stunning results.

You can choose to mount your artwork so that the painting itself wraps around the stretcher frame OR you can mount it so that only the white border wraps around the stretcher.  Both are acceptable ways, and it depends if you want a slightly zoomed-in focal point to a particular part of the painting.

The stretcher will allow for better storage of your work, better transportation of your work and will give it a professional look when hung on your wall.

If you are ready to frame your work onto stretchers or are wanting to start your next artwork creation, we have a variety of options to help you and take your breath away. Contact us today to turn your dreams into art.