I should do this every time I finish a painting, but it’s not my favorite thing to do so I usually end up putting it off until I HAVE to do it and then I have a whole bunch to do at once. This was the case when I realized I needed to get most of my paintings hang ready to display at Pope Mountain Arts for November. Don’t be like me and make sure to have your paintings ready to hang as soon as you finish them! That is my number one advice.
Since most of my paintings were sitting in my studio collecting dust the first thing I had to do was clean them. I used the bread method, which I’ve raved about in the past and swear by.
Please note that I have only tried this method with acrylic paintings and don’t recommend it for other types of painting. Since I’ve never tried it on other types of paintings I can’t vouch for it’s validity.
Step 1: Have a Clean Painting
A dirty painting will scratch and smear when flipped onto it’s face to attach the hardware on the back. Make sure your table is clean and your painting is clean before you start. If your painting is fresh and brand new this may not be necessary and you can skip to Step 2. But if those paintings are needing a little TLC all you need is a piece of white bread. It is soft, porous and absorbs dirt and oil.
Our hot dog buns were getting stale so I decided to use them. It was just as effective and I think they were a bit tougher and didn’t fall apart as fast as a slice of bread does. If you’re using sliced bread I recommend using the end pieces. They are tough enough to last a few paintings and I know (at least in my family) nobody wants to eat the end pieces. Full disclaimer: it gets really messy but it is fairly easy to clean up (just sweep it up with your hand).
After watching the video you might be thinking “couldn’t you have just used the Swiffer duster to dust the painting?”. I did try that but I found it just snagged on the painting when it was dirty (but didn’t when it was cleaned) and it left streaks in the dust rather than actually removing it. The bread also absorbs dirt and oil off the painting while the duster just sort of scraped at it in a half attempt to remove the dust only. It did work great to remove the bread crumbs though.
Step 2: Measure Twice
Measure your painting from the top to figure out where to place your hardware. I have learned these things through trial and error:
Don’t measure at or below halfway. If your hardware is installed below the halfway mark your painting will hang off the wall funny. It will stick out instead of laying flat against the wall.
Make sure both sides are installed at the same height. You don’t want your painting hanging crooked either so make sure both sides are level.
Install your eye hook inside the painting frame not on the back. If it sticks out the back your painting will not lay flat against the wall.
Step 3: Attach Your Hardware
There are several different kinds of hardware you can use to string a canvas painting. I like to use a nice quality closed eye hook. There’s no chance of the wire slipping off with a closed eye hook.
You can use a drill bit to create a small hole to twist the eye hook into. I find our drill is never charged when I need it (or I can’t find it) so I usually just use a hammer to get the eye hook started and then I screw it in by hand.
Whether you leave the eye hook turned downward (like in the photo below) or facing outwards it doesn’t really matter. If you find your hook sticks out too far and compromises how the painting lays flat against the wall then you may want to turn it to face outwards so that it is flush within the frame of the canvas.
Step 4: String Your Wire
The gauge (thickness) of the wire you use will depend on what your personal preferences are and how big your painting is. I’m not sure what gauge the wire I am using is but it’s thin enough to easily bend and twist but thick enough to withstand that twisting without breaking.
Roughly measure your wire (I eyeball it) so that you have enough wire to string between both hooks without leaving the frame of the canvas. You will want to leave 1/2 – 1″ of space between the top of the wire and the top of the canvas frame. If you don’t leave that space you’ll find that your wire sticks out the top and/or the hook you are using to hang from the wall will stick out the top or push the painting forward so that it is not flush with the wall. You’ll also want to leave about an inch or so of extra wire on either end of the hook. When you string the wire through bend it backwards and wrap around itself up the wire. Before you come to the end bend it back down and wrap the rest of the way around itself going the opposite direction. This might be overkill but it’s how I like to make sure my paintings will stay hung up securely.
Once both ends are attached you can hang your painting on the wall. With this method it should hang flush against the wall. A regular picture hanging hook should do the trick to hang on a wall. You want to hang it on a hook that bends upward so that the wire doesn’t slide off.
I was getting my paintings ready to hang in a gallery which hang from a wire that comes down from near the top of the wall. This makes the paintings stick out a bit and so where the wire is placed is even more important to try to hang the painting as straight and flush as possible.
sLs Artistry 