subject: Being Defined By A Frame [print this page] Should you have an inexpensive print or posting lying around you can easily transform this into a seemingly expensive work of art via framing selections. A wise decision to make is to go for mat colors that can enhance your art. Ideal is a double or triple mat if you want it to pick up a color from the image. Leave the colors to the bottom mats and stick with neutral shades for the top. Getting double and triple mats will result in added dimension when framing.
Determining the mat width comes with considering the width of the frame as well as the size of the piece. Mat and frame should never be the same width. Resulting from this is a striped appearance that detracts from the image. About a half an inch is how long the bottom mat of a double mat should extend. The same width should be used on all sides of every mat for it to look good.
Consider floating prints and other images with deckled or otherwise distinctive edges. Floating means that the image is attached or hinged to the front of your mat board. The mat board creates a border around the image. If there is an uneven print with a deckled edge, there is no problem should it not be centered on the mat. Especially if there is nothing distinctive about the edges you can just have the mats cut so that you can place them on the edges of the image.
People can have a hard time framing photographs. Considering formal photographs like wedding pictures and portraits ornate wood frames in silver, gold and a variety of natural finishes are great but considering art photos including those in black and white simple wood or metal frames in black or silver or with light natural wood frames should be used. Using gold finished or cherry wood frames for black and white photographs usually induce competition.
For antique photographs complex framing is a good idea. Always consider silver framing for old black and white photos. For sepia prints it is a good idea to go for antiqued gold finished frames and wooden ones in cherry, mahogany, and ebony walnut. What is great to use with traditional paintings including portraits and landscapes are ornate mouldings and fabric liners. Refrain from using liners and opt for simple frames for contemporary paintings.
Framing has a variety of purposes other than being used for prints, posters, photographs, and paintings. If you have things lying around like fabrics, theater tickets, old letters and postcards, political buttons, christening dresses, and many more you can frame these and hang them at home or in the office. What is applied to gallery style framing is a minimalist look. Natural finishes for wooden frames or ones in matte black are used here.
Other than having no ornamentation these frames only have straight edges. In different shades of white come the mats used for gallery style framing which are 8 ply thick. Mats that are 5 inches wide can be placed on a small image that measures about 3 by 5 inches. Besides drawing the viewer's eye into the image the heavy mats also make it seem that the piece is important.
Elaborate wooden frames work best with antique furnishings and reproductions and this is why they are popular. Affluence in the mood of the 1980s is represented by high sheen silver and gold frames but when it comes to the reserved spirit of the 1990s antiqued silver and gold frames represent this. Lots of variations exist with metal frames from a decade ago and industrial metal frames. Not only is the design for the new ones wider with cleaner lines but they have brushed finishes with cross hatching too. These and the earlier metal frames are all economical framing options.
It is because of famous photographers that art photography has been revitalized but it is due to restoration services that the restoration and framing of your family's own antique photographs grew popular. If you compare antique posters to many original artworks the may be expensive to frame but they are less expensive than the latter and their value will continue to increase in time. When it comes to loft dwellers and people with lots of wall space these work great.
