How to hang a painting easily?

Whether it’s your painting or an acquisition you’d like to hang, frames don’t come standard with a wall-mounting system. In fact, not all paintings are designed to be fixed to a wall. Some canvases can be displayed on easels, for example. It’s up to you how you display your work.

Let’s take a look at the fasteners used to securely hang a picture or frame on the wall.

How to hang a picture

There’s nothing more economical than a hanging system for a picture! The necessary materials are easy to find, too!

To hang a canvas on the wall, all you need to do is buy some pegs and string, which you can easily find in any standard DIY store (Castorama, Leroy Merlin etc.).

Pitons and string make a very versatile picture-hanging system, easy to fix and inexpensive 👍.

How to hang a picture on the wall

• 2 pitons. Pitons are small hooks with a head that is either ring-shaped or open like a hook. They come in all sizes. I recommend the smallest model, with a ring-shaped head, which fits all frame sizes. In this way, the string will be held securely and won’t slip out. The aim, of course, is for the hanging system to be strong enough to protect your picture. The hooks can be screwed into place, making them extremely practical and easy to insert into the frame.
• string. You can use any kind of string to hang your picture. Thick string, thin twine: it doesn’t matter. I use food-grade twine to hang my canvases. It’s fine, strong and comes in spools of several dozen meters at a low price! I use it twice.
• a tape measure ;
• a hammer ;
• a standard pen to mark the piton insertion points on the frame;
• a pair of scissors.

How to attach picture hangers

Nothing could be easier. Set yourself up on a stable work surface with all your materials at hand.

• Measure the height of your frame. Divide this measurement by 3. At ⅓ of the top of your frame, make a small mark on one side with your pen: this will be where you insert your first piton. Repeat the same operation on the parallel edge.
• Prick the tip of the piton into the pen mark, hold firmly and tap lightly with the hammer to “anchor” the piton in the wood.
• Bolt the hook into the frame. Normally, it fits easily. It’s sometimes a little difficult to turn it, as it’s a small piece of hardware and you may have to use your wrist to force it into a tight corner of the chassis. To screw it in more easily, you can use a small piece of metal or a screwdriver which you pass through the head to rotate it. The entire pin should be in the frame. Only the head should protrude, with the loop pointing upwards.
• Repeat the same operation for the 2nd piton opposite.
• Cut a length of string, folding it twice for extra strength. Simply thread it through the 2 eyelets on the pitons.
• Tie the two pieces of string together, ideally at a distance of 2 or 3 cm below the upper frame, without stretching it too much. A little slack will make it easier to hang on the nail on the wall and re-center the picture if necessary.

As you can see, it’s not very complicated to do. However, the only “risk” is that the frame may crack when the piton is inserted. To avoid this, I recommend the use of good quality canvas, such as Master Toile. The wood is made from Landes pine, which guarantees its solidity: it won’t crack when the pitons are inserted.

Displaying a painting on an easel

The easel allows you to display your paintings without fastening them down. It’s a solution used by many artists at exhibitions. There are different types of easel, which can also be used for painting. The only problem is storage and transport.

For my part, I don’t attach any strings to my paintings when they come up for sale. I leave it up to the buyer to choose the type of exhibition that suits him best.

Whatever the case, the principle remains the same: be creative in the way you display your paintings! And don’t forget to show off your work!