How to frame an oil painting on canvas paper

[megt]

Hi,

I tried searching the forum but couldn't find anything on this. I have some paintings on canvas paper that I'd like to frame. Usually I paint on paper just as exercises, but sometimes I actually like what I end up with, or someone asks to buy it.

Is it ok to use some kind of archival paste to glue it a piece of masonite or some other board? If so, what would be the best type of support to use?

I could treat it like a watercolor and mat it and then frame it, but I thought you weren't supposed to put glass over oil paintings.

Any ideas are welcome. Also, I feel kind of guilty selling someone a painting on canvas paper as opposed to stretched canvas or board. I am always amazed when someone wants to buy anything anyway but then I struggle with price. Any input on that would be great too.

Thanks,

Meg

[Steve Orin]

You can cover well cured oils with glass but if they have a lot of texture you might have issues.
You can also freehang the painting with a 1/4" spacer between it & the glass.

[DaveMak]

Hi Meg...

Since you are the artist you are free to do anything you want!

However, as a professional framer I have several recommendations to you as to properly handle this work.

First, I'd like to commend you for caring enough to both inform your client of the nature of the substrate and also for caring enough to want to properly handle the work for its best preservation.

You certainly can handle this piece like a watercolor... rice paper hinging or using corner pockets to hold the art in place with matting and a backing board. Glass is fine on an oil painting and actually is a better preservation treatment than having a painting freely exposed to the elements. Glazing provides physical protection and also helps to alleviate rapid temperature and humidity changes. Museums use either glass or acrylic glazing for this very reason.

Being on a paper this oil should be under glass and matted and if it was mine that is exactly the treatment I'd use or, as Steve suggested above, it could be hinged to a rag board and float mounted in a frame with spacers and/or matting to keep it off the glass.

For oils on canvas I still prefer to have it properly varnished and framed without glazing simply because you can experience the tactile qualities much easier than when glazed.

[edward211]

I too have a number of oil paintings on paper that I need to frame. My concern about using hinges or similar, is that the paper will buckle as humidity changes. Any further comment or advice would be appreciated.

[Biblioscape]

Dave can explain this better than I can, but if you use a couple of hinges at the top, the paper will be able to expand and contract without too many problems. It's when you tape it all the way around that you have buckling.
Also, the dry oil paint will help physically stabilize the paper surface, unless the paint is very thin.

[RaphaelG1]

Meg, to be clear, is this a painting on a sheet of "canvas" from one of those canvas pads or is it really "paper"?
If your painting is on canvas from a pad I believe you'd receive answers different from what you have received thus far. I am not an expert like Dave (or the others) but I believe canvas from a pad can be glue mounted on masonite or some other solid panel.
I'll let Dave tell you which glue he prefers as I would also be interested to hear.

[sekulastudio]

This may help to answer your question on how to mount an oil painting that was done on paper. This link is about Arches Oil Paper, which you may want to use instead of canvas paper on future painting. I like it a lot better. Anyway, here's the link. The videos at the bottom of the page will tell you more about the paper and how to mount it.
All the Best,
Gaye

[Hoosier Fred]

I do studies on canvas paper for some of my paintings and occasionally want to display them or give them to others. I use a spray artist's mounting adhesive (Blair #82490) which can be used for both temporary and permanent mounting. spray both the back of the canvas paper and the face of the mounting board, wait a minute for the adhesive to dry, then put the sprayed surfaces together with a little pressure.