What color to paint sides of hung canvas?

[candoco2]

I came across this thread after putting in painting the sides in google.
Personally, I hadn't previously thought of painting the sides. I think it looks better to leave the canvas or linen showing.
Recently though I have purchased pre-primed canvas. Personally, I would never continue a painting round the sides.
A painting is usually a flat surface. It seems amateurish to paint the sides.
For white painted sides I have been convinced by top quality work which has convinced me otherwise. Ie Tomma Abts, whose work won the turner Prize.
I have seen drips and paint scuffs on the sides too. I think its fine.
Black seems very wrong to me, and also keying it to the colour of the painting...wrong!
Finally, I have seen recently at art fairs painted panels with unpainted sized and varnished natural wood showing. This looks very strong I think.

[robinlb]

I paint on masonite panels, lately my framer has been mounting them on stretchers that are recessed in 1/4" from the edge so that they appear to float on the wall, it's a pretty cool affect.
The paintings can still be framed in a float mount frame if the purchaser wishes to.
The panels edge is painted but as it's only 1/8" thick it's unnoticeable.

[gaelle]

There is no acrylic house paint - it's all latex - and I can't recommend using it as underpainting stuff, not even with acrylic on top - there's a good chance, very good, that it would peel right off the canvas.
I paint my edges with either a color or the picture wrapped around. I like the effect better and I hate framing anything. I'm not too cheap. I'm completely cheap - and usually too broke to frame all of my paintings. I want to use the money for paint!! Let the buyer buy the frame - it's my experience that trying to pick out a nice frame only gets you someone who says "i think i'd like it in a green frame better". You can't win with that - AND there's a lot of people who buy art for the color of the frame (to match the couch, etc.).

[kinjem]

In y opinion you choose dark color which make your painting attractive.Other wise you use the some mix color and give best effect of different color combination.

[gstrattan]

I use the dominate color that I used in the painting. Though I suppose, as someone suggested, using a mixture of the leftover paint is a great idea too. I think painting "around the corner" makes it seem like the artist painted it on un-stretched canvas and then stretched it afterwards and is quite possibly losing some information--to me it looks cheap and un-knowledgable. I also think not painting them at all looks unfinished. Of course ideally one would choose a nice frame but that begins to be rather expensive. Painting edges a solid color does the same job and is cheaper.

[Biblioscape]

I generally paint the edges with a background color, though I've also painted the edges on one and scrafitto'd lines from a poem around the edges. You could do that with a title, or sign on the edge. It's another opportunity to add to the painting, though the line between innovation and tackiness is debatable.
Also, if you don't like the painted edges, you can frame the painting later. Sometimes I don't frame canvases because I like to paint on nonstandard sized canvases and the frames are quite expensive. You can't always find one to suit the painting.

[madtripper]

It would be easiest to paint the sides black, or some standard color, but I have yet to see one painted a solid color where you do not see a ragged edge between the painting surface and the edge color. It is too hard to get a nice clean line along the canvas edge.

So I carry the painting around the sides of the canvas.