Hand-Painted Picture Frame for Large Paintings, Made to Measure

A large painting needs a moulding with enough presence to hold its proportions. This one is 98 mm wide and 45 mm high, so at a metre and above it still closes the composition instead of disappearing along the edge of the canvas. I make each frame to measure, paint it by hand and patinate the surface, in one of eighteen colours. If you are weighing up how much moulding a big canvas actually needs, I go through the reasoning in my guide to the wide wooden painting frame.

Moulding profile

From the artwork side, the moulding opens with a small inner frame milled into the main section. It sits directly against the work and creates a first, clearly separated plane: a frame within a frame, formed in one piece of timber rather than glued on as a separate element. Beyond it runs a shallow hollow, and then a flat frieze, an even field that lets the eye settle after the first accent.

Past the frieze the profile drops into a second shallow hollow, which opens into a wide, deep hollow. This is the most excavated part of the section and the place where the shadow falls hardest. A raised narrow frieze closes the profile at the outer edge. That frieze is the highest point of the section, so the face of the frame does not fall away towards the wall: it rises from the deep hollow towards the outer edge.

The outer flank is milled as well, with a hollow and a step of its own, which you see when you look at the frame from the side or at an angle. The moulding is machine-milled; the surface preparation, painting, patination and corner joining are all done by hand.

The rebate is 7 mm wide and 20 mm deep, which takes a standard painting stretcher. I make the frame 2 to 3 mm larger than the dimensions you give me, so the moulding covers roughly 4 to 5 mm of the edge of the work: enough to seat it securely without losing visible surface.

Specification

• Moulding width: 98 mm
• Moulding height: 45 mm
• Rebate: 7 mm wide, 20 mm deep (an option for work 25 mm thick is available in the order menu)
• Timber: low-tannin timber of the kind used in museum work and art conservation
• Corner joining: mitred at 45°, reinforced with wooden splines
• Finish: hand-painted and hand-patinated, satin sheen
• Colour: eighteen options in the product menu
• Framing variants: empty frame, or frame with 4 mm Opti White glass and a backing board
• Fixing: sprung clips, or closed at the back
• Hanging: portrait or landscape, chosen when you order
• Lead time: 20 to 30 working days

A note on dimensions: the size you enter is the size of the painting, not of the frame. The finished frame is larger by the width of the moulding on both sides, which is close to 20 cm on each axis. It is worth checking that against your wall before you order.

What it suits

A moulding of this width works best on large formats: oil and acrylic painting on canvas, landscapes, still life, and work with a strong, compact composition. Below about 40 cm on the shorter side the proportion inverts and the frame starts to dominate, so for small work I would suggest a narrower profile. You will find the whole range in my catalogue of custom picture frames.

With glass, the frame also takes prints, drawings, watercolours and photographs. The darker colours in the range hold their own in rooms with a definite character, in living rooms with dark joinery and in gallery spaces. The lighter options, the whites and greys, are quieter and will not compete with a painting that already carries a lot of colour.

Colour and finish

I apply the colour by hand, in layers, and finish the surface by patinating it: rubbing the top layer back gently on the edges and the raised parts of the profile so the frame does not read as factory-smooth. That is a deliberate part of the finish, not a sign of wear. The surface is sealed with wax and has a satin sheen.

There are eighteen colours: whites and chalky tones, greys from warm through to deeply cool, browns, bottle and dark greens, navies and black. On the black version the patination brings the red ground through, which gives the frame a warmer and noticeably hand-made tone. If you have a shade in mind that is not on the list, I also make frames in a colour matched to your specification, and my picture frame colour and material guide goes through how to choose one.

How it is made

I cut the corners at 45° and join them with wooden splines before any of the surface work, so the joint moves with the timber and does not open over time. Only once the frame is assembled and reinforced do I prepare the surface for paint, and the patination and sealing come last. Each frame is made singly, for one specific painting. I do not cut lengths of stock moulding down to the nearest size that fits.

Variants and function

The empty frame is the standard choice for oil and acrylic painting on a stretcher. The work is fixed from behind, without glass, which is the accepted way to frame canvas. I write more about that on my page on framing oil paintings.

The frame with 4 mm Opti White glass is for work on paper. Opti White has none of the green cast of ordinary glass, so it does not shift the colour of the work. Between the glass and the artwork I fit spacers, painted white or black, which hold the gap and stop the paper touching the glass. The backing is hardboard or a 3 mm composite panel.

I can make the same profile without a rebate, as a box frame in which the canvas sits within the opening with a visible gap around it. My guide to the American box frame for a painting explains how that construction works.

Frequently asked questions

How large a painting can I order this frame for?
Formats up to 120×80 cm price directly in the calculator. Larger sizes I make to individual order: choose the enquiry option, or write to me before you buy.

Will the frame take a deep stretcher?
The standard rebate is 20 mm deep and takes a typical painting stretcher. An option for work 25 mm thick is available in the order menu.

Can I order the frame without glass for a painting I have already stretched?
Yes. The empty frame with sprung clips is the default build, and it lets you fit and change the canvas yourself.

Complete framing – additional options

Every frame I make can be completed with full archival and museum-quality framing: anti-reflective UV-filtering glass (four classes to choose from), acid-free museum mat board, spacers wrapped in acid-free paper and a Dibond backing. This kind of mounting protects the work from light, acids and distortion. I set out the full glass and material specification on a separate page: archival and museum framing for paintings and photographs. All components are available at extra cost, as an individual quote on request.

Mounting and hanging

As standard the frame is fitted with sprung clips, which turn to release and make it easy to change the canvas. On request I fit brass plates with screws instead, supplied loose for you to install for a permanent fixing. For hanging, the frame takes picture wire as standard, with a single D-ring hanger available on request; you choose portrait or landscape orientation when you order.

Ordering to measure

Measure your painting, enter the dimensions in the calculator to within 0.1 cm, and choose the colour and the framing variant. I allow for the technical clearance at my end, so the figure you give me is the size of the painting itself.

The base price shown is the price per linear metre of moulding. The perimeter of your painting is not the full length of moulding the frame needs: the corners, cut at 45°, take up extra length, more so the wider the moulding, and at 98 mm that difference is significant. The calculator accounts for the full run of moulding with its corners, along with the options you choose: glass, backing and fixing.

The calculator handles paintings up to 120×80 cm. Larger formats I make to individual order. The lead time is 20 to 30 working days.