Low tack backing board

[Gillthepainter]

I have a purchaser who does not like work behind glass.
I've painted an impasto oil work on heavy fabriano paper, and he wants it framed without a glass covering. I've made one before and attached it to a wooden tray canvas, and it is still fine after 5 years.
I have just tested a piece on self adhesive foamboard, and it was surprisingly easy to lay down.
It looks smart too.
(I've sealed oil on paper before with cold wax, and tried to dig and damage the oil work, and it stays fine, so I can seal it from the front).

I'm about to put in a Lion order for my wood, but is the Lion self adhesive board as easy to lay down, please as low tack foamboard, that I do not want to use, as it's dingable.
And can the artwork be pulled off easily too - my tester on the foamboard was easy to take off, ie undo.

Do you ever frame something created on paper without glass, even? I am prepared to do it, like a poster, and feel pretty confident it won't damage, well, not worse than a badly handled canvas on stretchers.
Or is there another way to present a piece without glass that you know of?

By the way, oil on paper was part of a very good workshop I did at the weekend.

[JFeig]

Because the work is on paper, I would not suggest that the art be displayed without a glazing of some sort(real glass or acrylic).

Regarding the art being attached(mounted) to a "self adhesive board". You describe the board as being "low tack" vs permanent or industrial. It is not as permanent as other methods. Your test did last 5 years. Will it be in the same condition in 20 years? 30 years?

[Gillthepainter]

That is a very good question.
I know what he wants is not perfect, but cannot think of any other way to prepare the surface. Clear gesso sets like a rock, but I wouldn't want to put it on the top of a paper painting, only underneath.

Cold wax is a sealant and protector. If there were another artist product/ coating that would go over the top, I'd try that. Thin 0.5mm perhaps.
But I don't know of one.

[prospero]

There's nothing fundamentally wrong with oils on paper. OK for sketches an such. But for 'finished' artwork
a properly prepared substrate is desirable. A paper surface is vulnerable and a accidental poke will inflict
damage which can't be repaired easily - if at all.

As for mounting, good idea but you are only 'tacking' and adhesion will be uneven. Oils from the paint will soak
through the paper and effect the stick in random places. All-in-all it's a crude lash-up.

If you must oil paint on paper it's better to hard-mount the paper to a stout board before painting on it

Even better to gesso a board and texture it to give a 'tooth'.

[Gillthepainter]

Thank you, Prospero.
Preparation is so important, isn't it. I don't plan on doing this any more, although it was a very effective workshop.

Luckily, the paper I took had been gesso'd. I'd had it in the drawer for some time, so it was stiff, flat and prepped enough for the day.
I don't really have doubts about the longevity of the painting, any more than the longevity of a canvas painting.

It's just that I'd rather have it behind glass.

I appreciate all your thoughts.

[JKX]

Low tack sounds like something temporary. I’d fix the paper to a board with something permanent like diluted PVA before painting.

I’d also quiz the customer about not wanting glass. If it’s the look of it that’s disliked then optically coated stuff negates that.

I’d ask what he’d prefer to clean - an impasto oil, which in time will become a job that needs to be paid for, or a piece of glass! I’d also ensure advice given but not taken, is documented.

[Gillthepainter]

Indeedy. It is a temporary solution.
JKX, I've never got the knack of gluing a painting onto board very well. No matter how hard I press, and weigh it down, I will get a bubble or three.
The only exception is when the linen canvas is fairly breathable, and it doesn't trap air and blister on me.

The low tack I like, I was positively giddy laying this paper down. And as this can be easily undone, I'm happy too. As you say, I shall explain that to the buyer, and if they change their minds about the framing and glass, I can remedy anything that might go wrong in the future.

There is only one picture I believed would come back to haunt me.
I had a very expensive black frame, far too heavy for the painting that cost well over £100. So I painted it white (I cannot even remember what with, but I bet it was acrylic).
It took a number of smooth passes, and I thought that is going to chip, a lot, and show black underneath. It just didn't seem to key till the final layer.

But the customer saw me having a free coffee in Waitrose a decade later, and was still so happy with my painting. The relief, as I thought that would be something I needed to reframe.
I'm thinking once it's on the wall, it is pretty safe.

Touch wood, the worst that can happen is I repaint the picture on canvas for them.

I confess I admire what you framers are capable of. I find it all very challenging.