reinforced to support the size of your piece. If you see

repeatedly your piece has lost its stretch, started to bow, or

changed shape it could be an indication the framer did not

do a good job of bracing the stretcher bars with proper

fortification. You may want to speak with your framer about

replacing them or consider getting the opinion of a second

framer.

Frames customarily have something called a rabbit.

This is an interior grooved portion of the frame. The rabbit

can be as tiny as a 1/8 of an inch, to as deep as _ an inch

with the large frames. If your rabbit is too big or too small

for your artwork it can cause very obvious visual

disturbances.  To help compensate for this, framers will

stretch the canvas to where more or less of the "white" is

used to maximize the amount of image you are seeing

without showing white past the rabbit. When framing paper

artwork the white showing should be equal on all sides

except for the lower portion where the signature is showing.

Next take a look at your canvas for over

stapling. If you get your artwork back from stretching and

you see more than three or four staples per inch along the

sides, this is not a good sign. When you next have the piece

re-stretched the edging will be so torn up you won't be able

to have it done. Should you find yourself with a team of

staples running down your artwork ask the framer gently as

to whether he or she thinks once you remove these staples

the canvas will then be strong enough to re-stretch.  If

they're wise they'll get the message. If they're not wise

you may want to look for a different framer.

Don't forget to look at the back of the painting and

make sure the backing paper is a thick protective

paper. This should be drum tight and have very little give

to the touch. If your art is on canvas make sure the framer

puts air holes into the paper allowing the canvas to breath