Framing Your Altyerre Artwork — Canvas & Watercolour Board

So your painting has arrived. Now what?

At Altyerre, canvases are sent rolled inside a cardboard tube the safest and most practical way to ship original art, especially for larger works where freight costs can really add up. Watercolour boards arrive flat and ready to frame. Either way, you'll want to show your piece off properly. Here's everything you need to know.

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CANVAS - OUR OPTIONS

A note on borders

Most Altyerre canvases have a 5–10cm unpainted border around the painting. This is your stretching margin the part that wraps around the back of the frame and gets stapled down, so none of the actual artwork is lost. Where a canvas has no border (this will be noted in the individual artwork listing), your options are slightly different, more on that below.

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1. Stretched on a Wooden Frame - The Classic

The most popular and practical option. A professional framer stretches the canvas taut over a timber stretcher frame (interlocking wooden bars), stapling the border to the back. The whole painting faces forward, no glass needed, acrylic paint is durable and doesn't require it.

It's a clean, gallery-style look that gives the artwork full attention with nothing competing with it.

A few things worth knowing:

• Stretcher bar quality matters. Ask your framer what timber they use and whether it is kiln-dried, good quality bars hold their shape over time and keep your canvas taut for years. Avoid anything that feels lightweight or flimsy.
• For larger works (over 90cm on any side), a cross-brace between the bars is important to stop them bowing under tension.
• This is something most local picture framers can do quickly and economically. It doesn't have to be a specialist Aboriginal art framer.

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2. Wrap-Around Stretching

When you stretch a canvas, you have a choice about what happens at the edges: you can either keep the full painting on the front face (using the unpainted border as your wrap), or you can use part of the painting itself to continue around the sides.

Wrap-around works beautifully with flowing, pattern-based paintings, like bush medicine leaves or dot work where the continuation of the design on the sides looks intentional rather than cropped. It gives a modern, frameless gallery feel that suits contemporary interiors really well.

For this, your framer will need to use deeper stretcher bars to give enough depth for the image to wrap neatly around the sides.

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3. What If There's No Border?

Some canvases are painted right to the very edge, with no unpainted margin. If this applies to your artwork, it will be noted in the listing.

In this case, you have two good options:

Wrap it around — Use the painting itself to wrap around the sides of the frame, as described above. This works especially well when the design is a repeating pattern. It does mean a small amount of the painting appears on the sides rather than the front, but it can look stunning.

Lining — A professional framer can add a thin strip of conservation-grade fabric to the edges of the canvas before stretching, giving them something to grip and staple without touching the painted surface at all. This keeps the full painting on the front face. It's worth asking your framer specifically about this technique for edge-to-edge paintings.

What we'd gently advise against: face-mounting or permanently gluing a canvas painting down to a board. It's very hard to reverse, can cause damage over time, and limits your options if you ever want to reframe it in the future.

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4. Floating Frame (Shadow Box Frame)

Once your canvas is stretched, you can add a floating frame around it, a timber surround that sits around the outside edge with a small gap between the frame and the painting, so the canvas appears to "float" inside it.

It adds depth and presence to the work, and gives a more polished, finished feel. It's particularly good for valuable pieces, as the frame also helps protect the canvas edges. Natural timber (Tasmanian Oak is lovely), black, or white are all popular depending on your space.

It does cost a little more than plain stretching, but the result is striking.

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5. Slim Timber Frame

A simple, slim timber frame around a stretched canvas is an understated look that works in almost any home it adds just enough definition without drawing attention away from the painting. Natural timber tones complement the warm ochres and earth tones in a lot of Central and Western Desert work especially well.

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6. On a Wooden Easel or Display Block

Smaller works don't have to hang on the wall. Once stretched, a canvas can sit on a small wooden easel or display block on a shelf, mantelpiece, or sideboard. It's an intimate, relaxed way to show a piece and easy to move around or rotate which work is on display.

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WATERCOLOUR BOARD - YOUR OPTIONS

Watercolour boards arrive flat and don't need stretching — but they do need proper framing to protect them for the long term. The rules are different from canvas, and it's worth understanding why.

Glass is essential

Unlike acrylic-on-canvas, watercolour pigments are sensitive to light and moisture. UV-filtering glass (or UV-filtering acrylic glazing) is essential for watercolours it blocks up to 97–99% of harmful UV rays and protects the colours from fading over time. Non-reflective or museum glass is worth the extra cost; it dramatically reduces glare and you can barely tell it's there.

One important rule: the glass should never touch the surface of the painting. That's where matting comes in.

Matting

A mat is the border that sits between the artwork and the glass, creating visual breathing room and keeping the two separated. It also acts as a spacer to allow a little air circulation within the frame, which helps prevent moisture build-up.

Always ask your framer to use acid-free mat board, low-quality board will yellow and deteriorate over time and can cause discolouration to the artwork itself. A double mat (two layers) gives extra depth and a more polished look.

Mat colour is a personal choice, but simple and neutral tends to work best — the mat should draw your eye into the painting, not compete with it. A width of around 6–8cm is a good starting point, though larger works often suit something more substantial.

Float mounting - showing off the full board

If you'd like the full watercolour board to be visible, including its edges, ask your framer about float mounting. The artwork is hinged to a backing board (using reversible, archival tape never permanent adhesive), then positioned within the frame so the edges of the board are visible with the mat sitting behind rather than overlapping. It's a beautiful look for these pieces.

Whatever method your framer uses, make sure the mounting is reversible, meaning the artwork can be removed from the frame without damage, should you ever need to reframe it.

Frame style

Simple and clean tends to be the right call for watercolours. A slim timber frame in natural tones, black, or white all work well. Avoid anything too ornate or busy the detail is in the painting.

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A FEW THINGS TO AVOID (FOR BOTH CANVAS AND WATERCOLOUR)

• Direct sunlight — this is the enemy of any artwork. Even UV glass only does so much. Hang away from windows where possible, or use block-out blinds.
• Humidity and temperature swings — bathrooms and kitchens aren't ideal. A consistent, moderate environment is best.
• Cheap framing materials — non-archival mat board and backing can yellow and damage artwork over time. It's worth asking your framer specifically about archival or conservation-grade materials, especially for pieces you plan to keep for a long time.

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IN SUMMARY

 

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We'd love to see how you've displayed your Altyerre artwork. If you've had yours framed and would like to share a photo, tag us or send it through we're always happy to share customer installations (with your permission, of course). e: info@altyerre.com.au

All Altyerre paintings are sourced directly from the artists and come with a Certificate of Authenticity. Layby available — just get in touch.