how to frame your own artwork

OK, so you've just completed that latest minor masterpiece and you're really rather pleased with it.

Other people like it too and although you modestly shrug off the compliments in public, you have that warm inner glow of a job well done and on the quiet, you're actually quite impressed with yourself.

So what better than to get it framed and hang it prominently in your home for you to enjoy and to provide a talking point for visitors over a coffee?

Naturally, you'll be suitably self-effacing about your emerging talent - lovingly nurtured by ArtTutor of course! Or you might prefer to present it to a relative or friend as a unique gift that they'll always cherish.

Well, so far, all good.

However, now comes the nervous excitement and the big decision about choosing the right frame in which to display your picture.

Cost may well be a factor, sure, but more than that, you want to select something that not only enhances it to the maximum, but it looks well wherever it is going to be hung.

And that's where the problems start...

So many styles and sizes of frame. So many colours to choose from. Is it a watercolour or pastel? Should it have a mount or mat colour? Should it be a single mount or a double one?

Matching, plain or contrasting colours? Non-reflective or plain picture glass or acrylic sheet? etc. etc.

All of a sudden, choosing that frame becomes a nightmare instead of a pleasure.

Sure, if you have a local picture framer to lean on, he or she will offer you good advice, but it's still probable that you will end up with two, three or even more possibilities that you can't decide on.

And as you can see from the picture above, it's not always easy to judge from the corner frame samples what the whole picture will look like.

So you may be in danger of inadvertently leading yourself towards a frame/mount that looks fine in the shop or online but when it arrives home, married up to your picture, is quite out of place in the setting you've envisaged for it to be displayed.

In many ways picking a frame/mount is very similar to the blog post I did last month on backgrounds.

If you think about it for a moment, a frame is a further additional background surrounding your picture. So without me re-writing that blog here, many of the principles I suggested for selecting backgrounds are equally valid for framing considerations.

In the meantime, we're going to look at some of the factors you'll need to bear in mind whenever you select a frame for any picture. It's not going to be an exhaustive list, but it should give you several useful pointers to consider before you make any irrevocable decisions and/or pay out for something that's simply not going to work with your prized picture.

Main Factors to Consider

You could break down the potential decision-making process into perhaps six key factors. Some, like cost, are fairly obvious, some less so:

In what medium has it been painted?
Is it better with or without a frame and then, traditional frame or modern?
How big is the picture and where is it to be hung?
Are there key colours in the picture that you want to pick out via the frame or mount?
Does the frame allow the picture to breathe?
Cost?

I've not put these considerations in any order of priority, by the way, as everyone will instinctively add a different weight and importance to them.

To illustrate these thoughts better, I've included a number of paintings from the various lessons by the tutors and suggested a frame to use (or in some cases, not to use).

I've searched some of the numerous online sites that offer you the opportunity to upload a photo of your picture and then custom-build a digital frame and/or mount card of your choice, based upon the frames or mounts that they stock.

This is really helpful because you can see exactly what your picture would look like before committing to purchasing that frame or mount.

You can change the frame or mount colours at will, or even include a single, double or treble mount, adjusted to the sizes you prefer.

At the bottom of the article, I've included links to the sites I've used, though there are many others in your part of the world who are worth looking at too.

However, bear in mind that there are usually several different options for frames in style, weight and colour, depending upon the viewer's (your) opinion.

So I'm not saying that the examples I've suggested are the 'must have' frame for any of them!

I've also made use of a number of Members' pieces of work at the end, to see how they would look in a frame. But again, they may have already framed it in something completely different which works just as well, if not better, than my suggestion.

The important thing is to digest the checklist below and think things through, before diving in and ordering something you shouldn't have, upon mature reflection.

So to start, look at this magnificent oils portrait by Ben Waddams:

Wonderful as it is on its own, the framed version below adds so much more by forcing you to focus on the image within and really thrusting you face-to-face with the mountain lion.

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1. In what medium has it been painted?

Now obviously you'll know the media in which it's been painted/drawn. But with some media, a frame alone is appropriate, while with others, you need something else to add a further 'inner frame' around it.

Watercolours, Pastels, Coloured Pencil, Graphite, Charcoal, Pen & Ink

Traditionally, watercolours and pastels sit behind a mat or mount card with an aperture to reveal the painting, with the whole lot then set behind picture glass. The same generally applies to other 'dry' media as well.

This is for good practical reasons as well as aesthetics. Because of the relatively delicate nature of watercolour or drawing paper, it needs to be protected behind a mount, if only to avoid having to tape it directly to the frame. The glass then gives further protection to the picture itself.

With a pastel or charcoal, the glass obviously protects the picture as with a watercolour, but the mount is essential to keep the pastel or charcoal from touching the glass, smudging the image and ruining it.

However, this does give the artist a fine opportunity to further enhance their watercolour or pastel work by using one or more toned mounts to pick out key colours in the picture, as you can see in this watercolour of Ayers Rock, by Geoff Kersey. More on that point later.

Oils & Acrylics

With oils and acrylics, the more robust nature of the paint (once dried) and the canvas or board surfaces, usually means that the need for a protective mount or glass is not as critical.

OK, I know you can paint oils and acrylics on paper and there's no reason why oils and acrylics shouldn't be framed behind a mount and/or glass, but it tends to be more the exception than the rule.

I know also that you'll see many oil paintings behind glass in art galleries, but this is invariably a protective measure to prevent inquisitive, sticky fingers and the like, or pure vandalism, damaging centuries-old works of art.

Traditionally, any picture with a mount tends to require a thinner frame, otherwise it starts to overpower the actual piece of art.

This is because the mount card already acts as a 'frame' so the picture frame itself is adding another border.

On the other hand, oils and acrylics can take a much heavier frame in order to balance the fact that the image is visible right up to the inner edge of the frame itself.

Look at the lovely portrait by Paul Apps below.

The one on the left is placed in a frame that typically happens to be handy and the artist thinks 'will do OK'.

The one on the right is selected because it shows off the picture to the best effect.

2. Is it better with or without a frame?

I ask this question simply because with many canvasses, or works produced on thick board, the painting stands on its own without a frame.

Indeed, canvasses which are wrapped around and attached to a deep wooden supporting framework, perhaps 1" or 25mm, or more thick, are popular because they encourage the artist to continue the painting along the sides and top and bottom edges of the picture, which a frame would hide.

Clearly, in this case, you probably wouldn't want the intrusion of a frame to spoil the effect.

Take a look at this acrylic abstract by David Hallangen...

It can easily be displayed without a frame because of the vibrant interaction of the colours in the image.

By putting it in the large modern frame, a painting which is as loose and free as you can get is almost cramped by the frame surrounding it.

At the risk of making a sweeping generalisation, I would suggest that a painting is more likely to work without a frame, the more abstract or contemporary the subject matter is.

Conversely, you could never imagine a very traditional landscape - Constable's Haywain for instance - without that enormously heavy gilt frame that adorns it, all of about 6inches wide!

Oh, and before I forget, you will lose around 1/4inch (6mm) on each side and the top and bottom of your canvas or board when you attach it to the back of a frame.

It sits in what's called a rabbet, or rebate to hold it in place. Remember that, so that nothing important in the picture gets too near the edge and is partially cut off.

You need to allow about the same 1/4" for a pastel or a watercolour as well, where it is attached to the back of your mount or mat card.

Traditional or Modern?

This probably again depends upon the subject matter but location can also have a bearing on the frame.

A heavy gilt frame may not look the part in a minimalist, ultra-modern glass and steel office for instance.

Modern frames suggest clean lines, tidiness and perhaps suit a picture in a contemporary style, whereas more traditional frames give out an air of longevity, classiness and timelessness.

It's a generalisation, I know, but you do need to have some regard to the style and subject of your picture, as well as location when adding the frame.

But don't be too precious about modern vs classical. Rob Dudley's watercolour below in a traditional wooden frame and coloured mount works perfectly well in a fairly modern, clean-cut hallway, as you'll see in the next section.

Conversely, look at Jane Lazenby's dramatic acrylic of the Chicago skyline. I've put it into two classic frames that really clash with the subject matter of a modern waterfront and skyscrapers. They hardly do the work justice.

Now, look at the next picture, where I've given more regard to marrying up the subject and the style of frame.

OK, I know plenty of you may think that my third choice is no better than the first two, but at least I've tried to marry modern with modern, whatever you think of my taste!

3. How big is it & where is it to be hung?

Size does matter here.

If you want your piece of art to hang in a small alcove or between two pieces of furniture, a large frame plus mount might make the overall picture too large for the space.

Yes, it might still fit, but this is your masterpiece remember and you don't want it shoe-horned into a space that's not going to let people see it as you intended.

As a rule of thumb, you can add about 4 to 6" (100 - 125mm) to the height and width of your canvas or paper and this will give you a rough idea of the picture size once framed.

In this example, there's a good space in a relatively large hallway to accommodate Jane Lazenby's framed cat (some of the framing sites I've listed at the end of this post provide a range of virtual living spaces where you can 'hang' your picture in its digital frame to see how it looks.)...

In the photo above, I erased some ornaments that were on the desk, blocking the view of the picture.

Yes, I know you can move them somewhere else in real life but let's be honest, they'll be replaced soon enough, spoiling the impact of the picture. So it's useful, even before you pick up the brush, to consider where it might go before you decide on its size.

In the next photo, the alcove behind the settee is actually crying out for a picture and here, you might think about getting the frame to complement some of the greys or silvers or deep reds in the surrounding decor.

The frame above displaying John Cox's atmospheric woodland scene certainly works, colour-wise, but it's far too big and completely dominates the area.

You need to have regard for the space around the picture so as not to cramp it from its surroundings.

In the photo below, the frame is a much better size for the location and probably works better with the picture in terms of colouring.

It's possibly not quite the right colours to complement the furniture and ornaments though, as it's got a hint of gold in among the silver and grey.

It's one of those decisions where what looks right in isolation, just might not quite be right after you've forked out for a frame, which probably can't be returned or exchanged.

And what if you've got dark wood furniture or light-coloured contemporary furniture? Should you get a frame which complements the furniture and decor, or one that's closer to the picture?

There's no single or right answer to this. Only you can decide. You're the one who has to live with the picture if it's in your home and you have to be mindful about someone else's decor if it's for a friend.

Set that John Cox picture in this bedroom location for instance and you're virtually hiding it away, constrained by its position and conflicting in texture and style with the heavy dressing table and mirror.

However, this lovely picture of a barn owl below by Ben Waddams, in a frame that reflects the rustic nature of the subject and also blends with the traditional furniture, sits much better in this location.

It's also in portrait format to match the furniture structure and I've made it a suitable size so as to make it stand out but not be crammed into the space.

Pity about the modern radiator below though, not only for its looks but the fact that the rising heat could adversely affect the painting over time…

Now quite apart from the necessary space requirements, we've discussed, what is the background decor like?

Does the wall have a heavily patterned, strongly-coloured paper or is painted in a neutral cream for example?

For watercolours and pastels, again, there's an added dimension with the selection of the colour of the mount.

One of the most popular mount colours is cream or ivory. Not as stark as white, but it's light enough not to intrude upon most pictures, while at the same time offering a neutral background on most walls.

If you go into most galleries, whether they're a public art gallery or a private dealer, it's no coincidence that the walls are invariably a light, neutral colour that will enhance most paintings hung on the walls, regardless of the colour of the frame, mount or the picture itself.

The photo below offers up a potential banana skin for a painting. Virtually any sort of strong-coloured frame or mount is going to be fighting all day long with this wallpaper.

I've shown it with Gavin Mayhew's dynamic oils pastel picture of cymbals in a modern frame.

Technically it's a still-life, but full of movement, just as Gavin said it would be. Now, quite apart from both the colours and the frame clashing with the wallpaper, we have a riotous modern picture placed quite out of context in a genteel 'afternoon cream tea' environment.

So you have two choices. Change the wallpaper and the furniture, or change the picture. Well, it's easier in this blog to change the picture, but at least it gives us the chance to find somewhere more appropriate to put Gavin and his drums.

This simple but skilful portrait of Archie in charcoal, by Peter Keegan is a case in point.

The uncluttered picture, with an inner mount that complements the wallpaper, looks just right to start with and offers no clash of territory. The frame is a dark leaf green, which again, sits in harmony with the patterned paper.

Thus a real talking point over a relaxing coffee about its undoubted merits, rather than an animated debate about who on earth would put that cymbals picture, brilliant though it is, on a wall that colour!

Of course, it may be that you've been looking for someone in the house to re-decorate for a while, so insisting on your painting going right there could be all the excuse you need!

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4. Are there key colours in the picture that you want to pick out in the frame or mount?

It's always good if you can pick out one or two key colours from the painting that are repeated in the frame or mount.

So a lively picture of say yachts with red and white sails on an aqua blue ocean might lend itself to one of those colours being selected for the frame.

Or maybe the mount has just a thin line of one of the colours. With a pastel of an interior, you could have a double mount; the outer one perhaps a neutral ivory, with an inner one showing one of the interior's colours as an attractive border.

You don't have to pick up any of the colours in the frame of course. You might be perfectly happy with a broad dark, wooden frame with a gold border, representing none of the colours in the picture, but just as capable of adding a real lift to your work of art.

However, again it demonstrates that it's something you need to have at least half an eye on when you set out to paint your picture.

Rob Dudley's sparkling watercolour painting that I mentioned earlier is a good example.

I've added a classic wooden frame and a mauve-coloured inner mount that, with just a thin border visible, still picks up the shadow colour in the clouds.

I tried the aqua blue of the water and the red of the yacht sails first as an accent colour, but they were both a bit too strong.

The more restrained mauve works well as an accent colour, without drawing attention to itself.

Incidentally, I wanted to pick a cream-coloured mount for this, but it looks slightly more yellow than I wanted. I tried the off-white but it showed up too starkly as white. So I settled for the cream digital mount here to illustrate the point.

Just be careful of taking all the colours at face value on the websites.

5. Does the frame allow the picture to breathe?

This to me is a really crucial question when assessing if the frame enhances the picture.

By allowing the picture to 'breathe' what artists tend to mean is whether the frame really sets it off and almost 'steps back' from the painting, providing a backcloth where the focus is only on the work.

Or, does it appear to literally wrap itself tightly around the edges of the picture like a boa-constrictor, because it's, proportionally, too small for the picture itself.

I've lost count of the number of times in local shows, where the artist has displayed a very fine oil or acrylic painting, only to spoil it by putting it into any old frame, probably because it happened to be empty and it happened to be the right size.

Now, look at this lovely acrylic painting of Venice by Robert Dutton.

Something this size, about 18" (35cm) square, which is not particularly big, probably needs a frame around 3" (75mm) or more wide to achieve a proper balance and to say to the viewer "look at this painting, isn't it superb!"

In the left-hand picture, I've wrapped a thin, dark-wood effort around it from the 'happens to fit' school of framing. It's a little over 3/4" (20mm) wide and would be fine for a medium-sized, say, 14" x 10" (35cm x 25cm) watercolour or pastel, along with a mount.

But this acrylic work needs something more robust.

In the right-hand view, we have a gold & bronze frame, classical but not too ornate, but which is heavy enough to set off the painting in the manner it deserves. Being around 3" wide, it provides enough space around the actual painting for the viewer to take it all in, with their attention focussed totally on the work.

In other words, the picture can 'breathe' in its own space and reach out to the viewer, unconstrained by a puny frame that appears to be clinging to the painting seemingly intent purely upon its own survival.

This can happen too with any picture behind a mount because, as we've already discussed, the mount 'opens up' the space around the picture anyway. However, a watercolour of perhaps just 14" x 10" (35cm x 25cm) needs a mount or mat of at least 2" (50mm) or it will itself look constricted.

In Rebecca De Mendonca's cheerful beach-side pastel of a little boy busy fishing, the left-hand picture has a single mount size of only about 1" (25mm) all round.

The frame, representing the texture of driftwood, is quite appropriate but appears to be closing in on it, almost as if the mount has been cut as narrow as possible to make sure the whole of the painting fits. In other words, "the frame is this size, let's see if we can get the picture in with a bit of a card mount for good measure".

Now, look at the other picture where a mount of a little over 3" (about 85mm) has been selected. Added to that is a double, inner frame of a similar blue to the boy's shorts, which gives a bit more definition and space. Only then is the frame size measured and cut accordingly. You can now see how much bigger it needs to be to show off the picture at full value. Enough said.

Incidentally, one way of expanding the space around an oil or acrylic if you like a frame but it isn't quite wide enough on its own is to insert what's called a 'slip frame'.

This is, in effect where an additional frame is set inside the outer one and is often a lighter colour, perhaps with a small texture, which acts in the same way as a mount or mat card for a watercolour.

Here's a photo of a painting I did from a visit to the lovely medieval town of Bruges, in Belgium, a few years back. This particular slip frame has a canvas texture and also has a gold inner border, so there are in effect three separate frames around a 14" x 10" acrylic painting.

Note too how the picture is on a light coloured wall, even though it's textured. No question of fighting with wallpaper there... or of me re-decorating either!

6. Cost

Now I've not ignored cost because make no mistake, framing your work can be a fairly expensive process.

A decent framer will provide invaluable advice as to frame style, mount, colours and so on, picking up many of the points I've outlined.

However, framing costs money and if you're hoping to sell your work at an exhibition, it's definitely something you need to take into account.

You'll want to recover the cost of the frame as well as your time and materials for the picture itself, but is that going to price your work out of reach of those that attend the exhibition?

Skimping on the frame might save some pennies, but as we've already seen, is that going to be counter-productive as to its potential sale?

For that reason, if you produce work for a commission, I'd recommend you always charge for the painting alone and suggest to the buyer that you can advise on framing it or get it framed for them, but that they would have to add that cost in.

If the painting is for yourself, or a gift, then the decision is actually a little easier because you'll justify the cost of a good frame in your own mind in the same way as any other piece of furniture that you might buy.

Remember the old adage:

The quality of a product is remembered long after the cost is forgotten.

Painting to a standard frame size

You can save a considerable amount though if you buy a frame in a standard size.

If you look in any framing store, you'll see a lengthy list of 'standard sizes'. If you're happy to get your paintings to fit into one of these, bearing in mind what I've said about letting the picture breathe, then that could save you up to 50% of the cost of getting a bespoke frame to your precise measurements.

Actually, canvasses and watercolour pads are sold in most of those standard sizes so the decision may be made for you.

Just beware if your frame is sold in Metric measurements though and your canvas is in Imperial measurements, or vice versa.

A 40cm x 30cm frame is the metric equivalent of a 16" x 12" canvas, but in fact, 40cm is 15.75" and 30cm is 11.81". So you can see your imperial canvas won't quite fit into an equivalent metric frame.

The other way round, it might fit, but it's possible that it'll be fractionally too small to sit fully in the rabbet without leaving a gap somewhere.

If you tend to paint in one medium, say watercolour, and you produce enough pictures, then you can also save considerable amounts by ordering your frames in bulk.

They'll usually (but not always) need to be the same style and ideally, the same size. But most framing companies will offer discounts for buying even as few as five frames at a time.

If you've ever thought about producing framed prints of your work, it's now perfectly feasible to economically produce very short runs (as little as one at a time) as a sideline.

Giclee printing, using a home computer and printer/scanner to digitise your work allows you to print onto genuine watercolour or canvas paper, specially produced for the technique.

These can then be framed and sold at a more attractive price than many people would be prepared to pay for an original.

Choosing Glass

When putting pictures behind glass, that's another decision to make.

Non-reflective glass is great if your painting is opposite a window or other light source that makes it difficult to see it without the light getting in the way.

It can, however, dull the image slightly, but it certainly cuts out most of the unwanted reflections.

Plain old picture glass is fine for most purposes and the cheapest option. However, once you get much above about a 20" x 16" area (about 50cm x 40cm), including any mount, think carefully about where it's going to be hung, from a safety point of view.

Picture glass is typically, only about 2mm, or about 1/16th thick and although surprisingly resilient, isn't inclined to flex too much before cracking, if leaned on.

So hang it well out of the way of children, the elderly or vulnerable, or indeed anyone who could fall against it.

You could specify 3mm or 4mm glass or safety glass of course, but this is going to add considerable weight to the whole picture and you need to take advice as to whether the frame and/or any notion of hammering a single nail into the wall to hang it on is up to the job.

In fact, you can buy simple picture hanging kits in art stores, framing stores and DIY stores, etc. which makes life a lot easier.

A really heavy piece of work, especially if it has glass in it, or where it's on public display, may need several of those brass plates that screw to the wall and the back of the frame, to properly secure it.

The safest but usually the most expensive option is to look at the various types of plastic or acrylic sheet. They're also a lot lighter than glass so offer reassurance on the safety issue.

They can, however, scratch more easily and if polished with the wrong substances, can frost or fog over and from there, there's usually no way back other than replacement.

Can You Live With What You've Chosen?

After you've waded through all these factors and you've followed ArtTutor Bob's sage advice to the letter, are you happy with what you've selected?

Sometimes, with the best will in the world, you've asked all the right questions of yourself, take all the right advice, but the outcome just doesn't look right.

What looks great to you may contravene many of the gospels according to Bob!

Well so be it. Your instincts must allow you to make a final judgement because you're the one who's going to have to stare at the painting every day of the week.

If it offends the eye on day one, then it'll continue to do so as long as it's hanging on the wall.

I've displayed a number of suggestions for framing tutor's paintings that they've done on the site and I've tried to use as wide a range as possible.

Frequently, they're not what I'd pick myself and maybe you wouldn't either.

But that's the beauty of opinion. It's diverse and often controversial but never uniform.

Art Tutor Member's Gallery

Having displayed many of the tutors' works in all their glory, I couldn't finish the blog without showcasing just 5 of the hundreds of brilliant pictures that ArtTutor Members keep submitting to our Monthly Challenges.

I've digitally enclosed them in what I hope they will agree are frames that enhance what is already excellent work.

As ever, opinions will differ, but even so, I hope I've done them justice. They deserve nothing less.

Annelies with another fantastic Brusho painting.

Neil, with a glorious watercolour rose

Shelley McQ's heart-warming rendition of Mum & her new baby in watercolour.

Charlie's ever-so-elegant lady, again in watercolour.

Tree Lady's beautiful and sensitive offering in oils of a young ballerina in preparation.

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Conclusion

Well, there are a few things for you to think about and not every frame will involve considering every single one of those factors.

Experience too, is a great tutor and do take time to look in gallery windows, other people's pictures in their homes and online and you'll start to get a feel for what works and what doesn't in your eyes.

Hopefully, what I've done is to point you in the direction of some helpful tips and several do's and don'ts, that'll prevent you from diving in and wasting hard-earned cash, while selecting a frame that will go a long way towards lifting your most recent piece of work into your latest minor masterpiece category!

And I must mention again the excellent on-line framing sites that allow you to upload a photo of your work and play around with putting a vast array of mounts and frames around them.

Such was the selection of mounts and frames available that I spent far longer trying out different combinations than I did actually writing these notes! Be warned, they're highly addictive, but highly recommended as well!

Here are the sites I used, but as they say, many others are available in your part of the world. Just google 'on-line framing' or something similar:

http://www.anysizepictureframe.co.uk/seeitframed.html

http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/picture-frames/

http://www.ezeframe.co.uk/picture-frames