How I print and frame vintage art downloads (+ 2 FREE digital downloads!)
THE FARMHOUSE
We’re getting oh so close to calling our primary bathroom done, and I wanted to share a little looksie at some of the artwork we have in here. After striking out at Facebook marketplace, thrift stores, and flea markets for vintage art, I decided to go with some printable vintage art. And today I’m walking through my DIY process for printing and framing vintage art downloads so that they look their best. psst: I'm sharing both of these images as FREE instant downloads below.
psst: I rounded up more of my favorite vintage and new landscape art prints here
Art sources
Aren't they lovely? Before we talk downloading and printing, let me share the original source for this antique art. The landscape is by Lionel Constable (1828-1887), an English painter. And the bottom piece is called “Still life with roses in a glass vase” by Charles Hermans (1839-1924), a Belgian painter.
Free vintage art downloads
Both pieces are in the public domain and open access so I can share these free images with you as high resolution downloads. Click the buttons below to get your own free copy as instant downloads. Note, these are jpg format and I very lightly adjusted the brightness - digitizing art is not an exact science.
Many thanks to Lionel Constable and Charles Hermans for the hours and hours of appreciation I’ll get out of these prints while staring at them from my new bathtub ;) Both pieces are beautiful works of art and we're incredibly lucky to have them as free vintage art prints!
Okay, let’s talk about how I print and frame these vintage downloads…
DIY // How I print and frame vintage art downloads
Materials
Unstretched canvas print (I use this online printer - see below for print details)
Frame (I have a vintage one on the wall and this 8x10 wood frame in the tutorial)
Backing - something stiff to wrap the canvas around, cut to the size of your frame
Tape (I used packaging tape but masking tape would look much better ;)
Scissors
Order print
Once you have your vintage art printable downloaded to your computer, you can choose to print it at a local print shop or upload it to an online printing service. There are some big box options for online printing like Shutterfly, but I really like iPrintFromHome.com. I've been using them for years and the quality of their prints is excellent (tell them the Grit and Polish sent you!).
Wherever you choose to print, make sure to print on unstretched canvas if you’re trying to get the look I’m sharing here. The goal with vintage prints is to make the art look as real as possible and the canvas adds texture and more authenticity than paper IMO.
I’ll walk you through the printing steps and products I use at iPrintFromeHome.com for vintage downloads like these (btw, not sponsored!, but wouldn’t that be cool?!)…
Printing at iprintfromhome.com…
Click ‘Add photos’ on the top bar.
You can select ‘new album’ or ‘existing album’ and then click “Proceed to upload photos from my computer”
Click ‘+ Add photos’ and then navigate on your computer to the saved download. Repeat this step to add any additional pieces you want to print. And then click ‘Start upload’
Once the images are uploaded to the site you’ll be directed to a screen titled Order Prints. Check the box under the image you’d like to print. And then on the right side of the screen select quantity of prints you’d like, select ‘Unstretched canvas giclee’ under print surface (I also like their Somerset Velvet Giclee if I’m printing on paper), and then select your print size (they have lots of custom size). The print will be automatically uploaded to your cart. Repeat this step with each image you’d like to print.
Frame print
Cut the canvas down to your frame size plus 1” border on all sides. You want enough extra to wrap and secure the canvas to the back of the backing.
Then place your canvas good-side down and put the backing in the center of the back. Wrap the canvas around the backing and secure with tape. I used clear packaging tape but masking tape would look a lot nicer ;)
Stretch opposite sides first that way you get the canvas nice and tight. If you’re using a really large canvas it might be difficult to get it totally flat, so you might opt to glue it straight to your backing before wrapping it. Just make sure to use archival glue that works with canvas (I’ve seen this archival glue recommended but haven’t tried it personally).
Once you’ve secured all the sides to your backing you can put it in your frame. I usually choose to forgo the glass to make the canvas look more like an original painting, but that’s up to you.
The frame I used here comes with a back with mounting hardware so I put that in, flipped it over, and voila!
A beautiful art print for minimal time and money!
xx
