I have been framing my paintings gallery wrap style, or not framing them that is, since gallery wrapped paintings don't actually have a frames, but rather just use a wide edge of the side of the painting instead of a frame. As my style is becoming simpler, I am liking the contemporary look of gallery wraps for my paintings more.
The name gallery wrap comes from paintings on canvas that is wrapped around especially wide, 1 and a half to two inch, stretcher bars. Technically, my paintings are on panels mounted on a wood frame not wrapped canvas, but this type of framing is still usually called gallery wrap. I have been geeking out on craft a bit and have been sanding the edges and corners to slightly round them because I like the look and feel of it, and adding superglue to the corners to make them stronger in case they are bumped or dropped. I have also been sanding the sides with super fine sandpaper to give them a nice smooth feel. I varnish them when finished with a small amount of satin varnish mixed into the gloss varnish to take off a bit of the glare.
Originally when I started painting these I was painting the sides gray or some neutral color so they wouldn't compete with the image. But now I'm thinking of them kind of like sculptures, so that the sides are part of the painting, and i'm painting them with colors from the painting. I like this sculptural quality and enjoy working with my hands on them.
Sometimes I am continuing the image from the painting around the side, and sometimes not, depending on how I think it looks as a whole.