If you’ve bought an unstretched canvas, you’re just a few extra steps away from displaying your original, commissioned oil painting. Before you get started, you’ll need to buy stretcher bars for the four sides and a center support beam (or two center support beams, if your painting is particularly large). You can acquire these at most art supply stores. You will also need either a staple gun or carpet tacks and a hammer.

On a flat surface, join the four support beams to make a rectangle that is the size of the photo oil painting on your canvas. You can either size the support beams so that the edges are white or so that the image wraps around the edges, as in the gallery wrap framing option on our website (www.oilpaintingexpress.com). Once you have verified that the corners are square, place and join the support beams as well.

Be sure to wash your hands before handling your still life painting or portrait painting, to prevent leaving oils from your fingers on the canvas. With clean hands, gently place your commissioned oil painting’s canvas facedown on a clean, smooth, flat surface. Fold each side of the canvas over the frame, attaching the canvas to the center of each beam with one staple. Staple opposite sides first (top, then bottom, then left, then right), rather than stapling in a circle, to ensure that the canvas is stretched properly. Before placing any more staples, check to see that the image is centered and aligned on the beams as you would like it to be.

Once you have confirmed that you are happy with how your photo oil painting looks on the canvas, continue stapling opposite sides until the entire canvas is attached to the beams. Staple from the outside in, moving from the center out to the corners. When you reach the corners, neatly fold the canvas and staple the creased corners down. Remember to take your time during this process, checking to ensure that the canvas is pulled tautly over the support beams and is not bunching or wrinkling. It often helps to have a friend hold the canvas down for you as you staple it.

If you chose to gallery wrap your painting, you may not want to frame it, instead leaving the painted edges visible. The clean edges of an unframed painting are aesthetically appealing, but this also leaves the edges of the painting exposed to potential bumps and scrapes. Should you choose to leave your painting unframed, you should still carefully and securely hang your painting using a hanging wire.

If you decide to frame your painting, you will want to consider the style and color of the frame. The proper material, detail, and coloring in a frame can help to tie the reproduction oil paintings and the décor of a room together and can accentuate some of your favorite details within your commissioned oil painting.

At a craft store, buy at least four offset clips, screws to fit the holes in the clips, and a glassless and backless frame. Glass can damage the oil in the paint, resulting in sticking or smudging. If you like, you can use a thin paper backing to protect the backside of the canvas from dust, but you can also simply leave the back of the painting exposed.

To frame the painting, place the frame facedown on a clean, flat surface.

Then, gently lay the stretched canvas facedown in the frame. Place the clips so that the holes are over the frame and the flat end of the clip is flush against the back of the canvas. Screw the clips into the frame. You should use at least four clips (one on each side of the painting); you can use more if your still life or portrait painting is particularly large or if you want to ensure extra stability in your framing.

Your stretched, framed photo painting is now ready to display. Be sure to hang it sturdily, ideally with a hanging wire across the back of the canvas and attached to the support beams, and follow the preservation tips included with your picture oil painting.