Tig likes to think of himself as an engineer, but I think in the eight years that I’ve known him, there is a budding artist. He loves taking photos. Last year, on our trip to Paris (pre-house), he took this amazing panorama of the Eiffel Tower.

setting up the frame

I suggested we frame said picture and hang it in our bedroom. The plan for the master bedroom calls for artwork and only photos of the couple who are sleeping in it (wedding pix qualify). Family photos stay in the living room - sorry mom and dad. And plates are definitely out. We thought having a picture of Paris in our bedroom would remind us of the romantic days in the city of lights.

Tig arranged for the digital photo to be printed on canvas. The print shop we used coated the surface with a UV and water resistant finish. When that arrived, we took a trip to the art supply store to buy canvas stretchers. At home, we laid everything out on our dining room floor. Because the picture is so long and narrow - it’s one foot by 64 inches - we used cross braces and secured them with T bars to keep the frame from warping.

putting the frame together

Here’s how it looks…

back of the frame

Then the hard part. We easily spent over an hour stretching the canvas. Tig stretched while I manned the electric staple gun. In my high school days, I used a manual staple gun. Electric is much easier.

frame details

We started from the center and worked our way out to the edges. Unlike the softer canvas from my old painting days, this canvas was much stiffer. We were afraid it would tear if we applied to much pressure to stretch it. I stapled every 3 inches or so, to keep the pressure even.

And here’s Tig with his masterpiece…

finished artwork