To Frame or Not to Frame?
To frame or not to frame?
What frame compliments my new artwork?
Let’s just say that picking the right frame for your art is important. The wrong frame can take away from your artwork, the right frame can elevate it.
Frames can visually enhance your artwork, making it look high end and providing the finishing touch. Some online framing companies allow you to digitally put your piece in their frames. This REALLY helps give an accurate visual for your final look and you will immediately see how some frames elevate and others take away from your artwork. Framebridge is a great place to try this out.
Just to complicate things further, matting brings another world of choices! A mat is a thick piece of paper or board that sits between the artwork and the frame. There are many options as far as size and placing. Double matting is also an option, that’s something you would want to consult with a framer on.
It really depends on the artwork being framed to determine the width of the mat. My personal preference is a white or off-white mat, but occasionally dark is better, depending on the piece. Also, not every piece needs a mat, some artworks are better displayed in just a frame. Experimenting online with a bunch of options is invaluable.
American Frame is also good try out different looks.
When framing a piece, usually glass or acrylic is used to cover the work and serves to protect from it from UV rays, dust, being scratched or damaged in some other way. These surfaces come in a variety of options, archival and no glare are a couple of options you can choose from.
Sometimes I like to throw all the rules out the window, take a chance and frame pieces with no glass to better see the texture of the artwork, I love texture!
All of my stretched canvas pieces look beautiful with no frame at all, they look stunning with a floater frame as well.
It’s a good idea to search on Pinterest, or design store sites that you like and see some framing options, you can get great ideas and see what you gravitate towards and which are off putting to you.
Natural wood frames are usually my go to along with, black and occasionally white. Floater frames in natural wood tones, or black are options that always work for me.
Hopefully this has been helpful and you can now see that framing is certainly not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, each piece needs individual customization when it comes to framing. It’s so personal, keep in mind that my suggestions may be not what appeals to you, play around and see what delights your eye!