The treatment of the edges of artworks is an essential choice for artists to make and influences how the viewer perceives the entire work. Although potentially considered an afterthought in the making process, unframed artworks are consistently exhibited and collected, making their edges a key consideration. The boundary around artworks not only acts as a border but communicates something of the artist’s preference. The correct edge choice could enhance the palette, create contrast, harmonise with the imagery, generate tension, or suggest breaking boundaries. Here I will explore four edge choices for works on stretchers and panels, four for works on paper, and the effect of the framed edge.
Eight Ways to Approach the Edges of Artworks
Works on Stretchers or Panels
Clean Raw Canvas
By taping off the edge of the work (and removing once finished), the image is separated from the material it sits on and intentionally reveals its foundations to the viewer. This is a clear way to reveal your preference in material, which is especially effective if you’re using a quality canvas, linen, or panel that you’d like an in-the-know viewer to see. The neatness of a crisp edge communicates that the artist has preplanned the outcome for the sides of the work, which gives the impression of the artist being a neat, clean worker since it’s not possible to achieve this as an afterthought. There is a rawness to this approach, where the literal raw edge becomes a reminder of materiality. It’s especially impressive for an oil painter to save the edges from fingerprints.
Taped away, clean edge canvas corner.
Visually a sharp clean edge can create contrast with a highly expressive painting, or harmony if the work itself is very careful and precise. A drawback of this approach could be if the painting is very dark and immersive, with a potentially jarring stark white edge around it. It’s important to consider whether you want to remind the viewer that the work is an illusion by doing this since it will appear as a reminder of the underlying framework of the painting as an object.
Solid Colour Edge
Painting a solid colour edge on your work can compliment or contrast the palette of the painting itself, acting to enhance the viewer’s immersion in the world of the image, or experience a disconnect from it. A common approach is to have a solid colour edge that matches the dominant colour of the work so that the viewer can almost forget the edge is there and focus on the painted surface.
Painted colour edge canvas corner.
Choosing a contrasting colour can be effective if it lifts the palette of the surface. In the right lighting conditions, works with a coloured edge displayed on a white wall may have the effect of a halo of colour reflected onto the wall around them by the light bouncing the colour beside it. This can be exciting to look at since it gives the painting vitality in its given space. The risk with this method is choosing a colour that doesn’t compliment or effectively contrast with the work, that may actually detract from or overwhelm the chosen palette of the surface. Additionally, it could look like you’ve added the colour later to cover up a mess if there is a lot of texture from paint that has travelled around the sides during the painting process. This effect works best on edges that may have colour on them, but not be piled up.
Continuation of the Image
Wrapping the imagery of your painting around the sides of the surface is perhaps the most marmite approach to the edge. By doing so the artist is intentionally altering the two-dimensionality of the work, making it exist in 3D space. It moves it to the edge of entering a sculptural reading and intends to feel like the image exists beyond the single picture plane. In its favour, some artists feel that it gives the work a sense of completion since the reading of the image isn’t distracted by a differently treated edge. Some traditionalists feel that this is an unprofessional approach, where artworks should be delineated from the space around them.
Continued image edge canvas corner.
Considering the particular imagery and style of the surface is important too, with some approaches suiting this treatment of the edge more than others. A detailed figurative painting could feel disjointed when wrapped around the edge, with limbs broken by the new angles, and taking extensive, probably unnecessary labour to make it connect to the surface. On the other hand, a more abstract work may be enhanced by breaking away from the boundaries of the edge, and be more manageable to extend. Conceptually, wrapping the image around the edge should also align with the intended reading of the work, as it inherently suggests breaking a boundary.
Evidence of Process
Allowing the edges of a painting to collect and expose the process of creating the work makes the edge a site of interest to admirers. After choosing this method you will often see gallery visitors examining the sides of the artwork, exploring an archaeology of layers of paint dripping over the sides. This provides clues as to how the work was constructed and opens up conversations on the palette. This is the ‘painterly’ painter’s favourite, as it communicates to the viewer a shared love of the material and an implicit freedom in creating it. The beauty of the accidental dripped and splashed painting made around the edge can free a studious painting from appearing rigid, or enhance the vigor of an expressive one. The drawback of this approach comes from the studio, where moving a wet oil painting that has a messy edge can be inconvenient, add fingerprints, and need more time to dry before it can be exhibited. For some artists, the messy edge may work against the conceptual approach to their work, favouring the simplicity or cleanliness of other methods.
Evidence of process on edge of canvas.
Through all four of these options, as long as the decision is made with conscious intention by the artist, then it will be a successful one. There is no superior approach, as long as the maker is confident in the choice they’ve made, and how that relates to the ideas they present in their work.
Works on Paper
Deckled Edge
A deckled edge on paper is not only beautiful but a sign of investment in quality materials since it can only be achieved through traditional papermaking. The term ‘deckle’ comes from the frame used in its production, where paper pulp is poured onto it and shaped before drying. By choosing a paper made in this way, the artist is suggesting a knowledge of their surface, and preference for the handmade, so perhaps even implies something about their ethics.
Deckled edge paper corner.
The uneven edge of the paper may loosen up a drawing through diffusion and may allow some works to be perceived more as ‘fine art’ than illustration or design, depending on the artist’s preference. A downside to this kind of edge may be if the drawing itself would benefit from the structure or framing of a sharper edge, which can only really be decided by the maker. There is also an element of randomness to papers made in this way, so if the artist needs sheets that are completely identical and standardised, it may not be the right choice.
Sharp Cut Edge
When paper has a sharp cut edge, we may perceive the rigidity of it against the drawing. For instance, a highly expressive spontaneous drawing will contrast with a clean edge, and feel like it’s ready to burst out of it. A studious drawing may appear more analytical and crisp, with the edge harmonising with the work. This kind of edge aligns well with drawings that want to appear ‘clean’, and beyond that neutralises the edge from further interpretation. There isn’t so much to say about this edge of paper since it’s so common, making it suggest an indifference to the edge, and that it isn’t so important to the work. In turn, all of our attention will be focused on the drawing itself.
Cut edge paper corner.
There is a slight risk of this edge choice appearing ‘out of the packet’ since it’s machine-made. Without any intervention by the artist changing its size, it could seem like the surface choice is standardised, or by default. It perhaps loses a level of intrigue that torn papers and deckled edges can achieve, which represents a deliberate choice.
Torn Edge
Through resizing a sheet of paper, the artist reveals their specific intention for the drawing. We can immediately tell that the artist was dissatisfied with the dimensions of the paper available to buy, and by taking action, communicated their conviction to the viewer.
Torn edge paper corner.
Like a deckled edge, the torn edge may defuse the sharpness of a cut one, and give the drawing a feeling of activation since we can see the evidence of the action made on it. This method can look great if executed well, torn against a ruler or folded evenly, but it runs the risk of being sloppy if the tear has creased the paper. If a sheet is only torn on a couple of sides, the work may also suffer from appearing as if the artist has later removed a portion that they didn’t like, which could give a bad impression. This method also could undeniably be wasteful, where you’re losing strips from the sides. Torn edges may work best when you’re reducing larger sheets, since the offcuts can still be useful for little drawings.
Framed Works
Edges Concealed by the Frame
When the edge of any artwork, be it a painting or drawing, is concealed by the frame the edge of the work is neutralised. All of the previous concerns of the viewer’s perception of the work’s edge choice can be forgotten, and the frame itself becomes the new edge. The artwork should be enhanced by the frame choice, just like the edge choice. If any of the previous edge choices were unsatisfying, or a frame is the best choice to make the work feel complete, then it’s the way to go. The perfect frame will appear professional and compliment both the palette and personality of the work within it. Choosing the correct frame for an artwork can be daunting, and has been described in this article if you’d like to read more.
Edges Visible Within the Frame
Another choice with framing is to still reveal the edge of the work but inside the context of the frame. This suggests that although the artist wants the finishing effect of a frame, the actual edge of the artwork is still essential to its reading. For instance – framing paper on a float mount where the whole sheet is elevated, or placing a painting inside a tray frame where the edge may be partially or completely visible. This extra layer to the overall object will add a new angle of perception to the work by the viewer. For example, a painting with a drippy edge, inside of a clean frame, will still suggest that the artist is intentionally revealing their process and spontaneity, whilst the framing underlines that they consider this a serious pursuit.
This visual contrast creates a new tension between the edge of the artwork and the new edge of the object. To reveal the edge of the paper on a framed drawing indicates to the viewer that the edge of the work has been a deliberate choice and that we should consider it alongside the imagery we’re presented with. There are too many potential examples to detail, but what really matters is that if the edge has been an important choice for you, that framing doesn’t have to mean abandoning it.
It’s clear to conclude that the edge of an artwork is not just a physical limitation, but serves as an active site with the potential to elevate the overall perception of the work. If we imagine any of the most influential paintings in the world with a jarring neon edge, or a Master’s drawing with a poorly torn side, it’s clear that this choice could also hinder a work. The solution is to spend some time analysing which choices align best with your work. Whichever approach appeals most to you as the maker is the best choice, and perhaps from these examples there is something new to try out.
Further Reading
How to Write an Artist Biography, Artist Statement, and Artwork Description
What Is a Certificate of Authenticity for Artwork?
Composition Throughout Art History
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