Thursday, January 7, 2010

Does anyone know a business that offers oil painting stretching service in los angeles area? Normal cost too.?

Most framing stores will stretch your canvasses. Michaels has a frame dept. Lots of companies have machines that will do it very quickly, like Harvest Productions in LA. I cant give you a price as it really is arbitrary and many art galleries over charge. Some will only do it if you buy the frame too.


but it is so easy you could do it your self and it is very inexpensive.


the stretcher bars can be bought from any art store or Dick Blick art supply on line and they hammer together like tinker toys. You square them by measuring diagoally from corner to corner and the number should be the same. If not lightly tap the corners and adjust if necessary. The thinner stretcher bars should be fine and will fit nicely in a frame.


You use a regular staple gun (not electric) put the painting face down, and the frame (raised grove side down) over it, making sure that all 4 sides have a bit of the artwork showing. Put a staple in the center of one side of the back of the strecther bar, and pull the oppisite side tight with your fingers wraping around the bar, and and put another staple in the middle. Now do the middles of the shorter sides. turn over and see if have it centered. If not start over ( there are only 4 staples so its easy to adjust)


generaly what you do to one side you do to the opposite side.


So staple four staples about a fingers width apart from the middle staple and then pulling the oppisite side as tight as you can staple the far side down.( you can buy stretcher pliars, but on small stuff your hands should be ok)


there will be a slight crease. Now do the other two shorter sides the same way. Keep going around the canvass.1-2-3-4


When you come to the corners, tuck in like hospital corners making a bed, and staple. Sometimes I do my corners early after the middle 8 stapels in each section are in.


The creases will go away as you keep turning your canvass and stapeling.


To make it even tighter, lightly spray the back of the canvass with a water mist.
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