Art Melbourne 2012 - Melbourne's Affordable Art Fair

Added 6 months ago

Ask the Framer

Framing Tips!

Glenn Vardy is iconic within the picture framing industry for his years of experience and breadth and depth of knowledge in all sectors both within Australia and internationally.  He is a member of the peak international industry body, Professional Picture Framers Association PPFA and a fellow of Australian Institute of Management. FAIM. We are told that Glenn also provides free framing advice for framers and the general public via the www.framesnow.com.au web site! Check out Ask the Framer.

Great Frame Design and Selection

Great picture framing design should be an extension of the picture itself. An adage we often use when helping clients to choose framing is that if an unframed picture looks good in a particular room and the framing becomes an extension of the picture, then the framed item will be “in sync” with both the picture and the room it is to hang in.

 “Unless for a specific decorating objective, the picture frame should not be the focus.”

Great design is more than just the colours of the frame and matting but takes into account the “heaviness or seriousness” of the look, the texture of the art whether the look is contemporary or minimal vs. traditional.

Remember!
Somewhat like a choice of shoes with an evening gown.
Just because your joggers are the same colour as your gown doesn’t mean they will be the best solution.

Readymade frames vs. Custom Framing

Providing there is no compromise to size or design, readymade frames are an excellent alternative to custom framing. Good readymade frames are offered in all popular mouldings in a vast range of sizes and often available with off the shelf mats.

Even if you get a custom mat, the combination of readymade frame and custom mat, will normally be less than half the price of traditional custom framing, and with the advice of an experienced framer there should be no compromise in the finished result.

Tip!
Don’t underestimate readymade frames and matting for great results.

Conservation Framing versus Traditional Framing

Within the elements of good design there should also be the consideration of whether to frame to conservation standards or traditional framing methods.

Our advice to clients is that if an article has either high sentimental or financial value we would recommend conservation framing.  Good conservation framing should last up to 300 years and all framing procedures are fully reversible.   Nothing is ever glued to backings or permanently fixed.

Framing materials have improved significantly over the past 10 years, so even traditional framing should last up to 75 years. A conservative view is that a picture with little value today, may in fact become either financially or sentimentally valuable over time for any number of reasons, and that it should be framed to conservation levels today “just in case”.

As conservation framing is significantly more expensive than traditional framing we are possibly a little more “realistic” in our approach and adopt the view that if the item is replaceable, a decorator item, or the framing will outlast what will be framed (which would the case for most modern colour photographs), traditional framing is more than satisfactory.

In fact traditional framing is often more aesthetically pleasing as there is significantly more range of materials available to the customer and also allows for gluing items to backing boards in the case of posters or colour photographs which will ensure items always sit flat in the frame.

In summary

• If your picture looks good unframed in the room you to choose to hang it and the frame compliments the picture…….
• If you have explored the of use of readymade frames…..
• And you are mindful of the value of what you are framing….

Posted by Art Melbourne at 2:34 pm 1 Comments