Framing Artwork
 
The framing of your artwork is as important as the selection of the art itself.

The first thing to know about framing is that it should make the art look good. Good presentation enhances the art; bad framing can kill the artwork. Choices of presentation should provide a background that draws the eye to the art, but should not overpower the art.

The second thing that framing should do is take care of the art. Preservation is important, most of the damage to art on paper is caused by improper framing. Presentation mistakes can always be corrected, but mistakes in preservation is usually permanent, leading to complete destruction of the art in many cases.

 
Framing prints and framing canvas are completely different yet alike in one respect. Because the presentation actually can enhance or detract from your print, you should use care in selecting the colors and finish of the materials. Remember the print is only half of the presentation.

Paper Prints are framed behind glass with special colored mats to hold them in place and to cover the prints white edges. The mat also separates the print from the glass. This is very important because in time the glass could stick to the print. The mat must be slightly larger than the paper size in order to balance the print in the mat, which may require 3 inches or more all the way around the image. Most prints are double and triple matted for color enhancement. Limited editions prints should never, ever be trimmed, once altered they are valueless to collectors. All materials that surround and touch the print should be acid free to conserve the print against the advances of time. This is usually called conservation framing. Online Art Mall always frames with conservation in mind. Backing material is just as important, acid bleed through from cardboard or other acid containing materials will yellow or fade your prints in time rendering them
valueless. Save the acid-free jacket that your print comes in, collectors expect the jacket if you sell the print later. Online Art Mall when at all posssible frames the acid free jacket behind the print so that it will be with the print should you ever choose to un-frame it.
Some of our artists sign their prints in the border. When this is the case, Online Art Mall
will frame showing the signature

Canvas Prints are designed to look and feel like original oil paintings. The canvas is stretched over stretcher bars and the print is framed directly in the frame with no glass or mats. Often the canvas prints will be framed with a linen liner for color enhancement. This linen liner is simply a linen covered inner frame that separates the canvas print from the outer frame. You should notice that when you choose a canvas print to frame on our web page the page will allow you the option to frame without a liner or with one. The two most common colors or white and natural beige, however, black, burgundy, and other colors are sometimes used for specific applications.

Framing Guidelines
The thickness of the frame should enhance the piece, not overwhelm it.
General guidelines used by Online Art Mall

1-2 inch width frame for frames up to 11 X 14
2-3 inch width frame for frames up to 16 X 20
3-4 inch width frame for frames greater than 16 X 20

Mats
Mats are used to further enhance your art. The outer mat is generally wider than the inner mats. By default we will generally make the outer mat close to the same width as the width of the outside frame and the inner mats will be about a quarter of this width. If you have exact dimensions you would prefer for your framing job, please contact us and we will be happy to make whatever adjustments you require. Mat colors must not overwhelm the art but should set it apart from the frame. It is generally a good idea to have the mat selections reflect the same color base as the art being framed. Online Art Mall offers your mats in three types, paper, suede, and linen. The colors are identical only the material and texture is different. Paper is the least expensive of the three choices, but all are acid free for protection of your print.

Framing Stretched Canvas
There are many new trends in framing artworks, whether the art is on paper, panel, illustration board or canvas. For this article, we will explore some of the newest framing ideas for the presentation of artworks on canvas. Some of the suggestions are made in an effort to protect the artwork and some are strictly for visual appeal. But, taking everything into consideration, there are lots of new looks for canvas art.

Years ago, artists developed a simple type of framing called strip framing. It allowed the art to be displayed in a very inexpensive way and gave the appearance of being framed. The strip frames were nothing more than strips of wood that were cut into lengths and tacked onto the edges of the stretched canvas. This simple and low-cost strip frame allowed the entire front of the painting to show. Artists loved it for the low cost and the full visibility of their work.

Today there is an advanced and quite handsome frame that allows the entire canvas to be displayed with no edge loss, and it is called a float frame. Artists who like wraparound images in their work use these frames for a clean, contemporary look and total image visibility. The canvas actually sets onto a shallow box-type ledge and is attached with screws from the back of the frame. The part of the frame that is viewed from the front is set away from the edges of the frame like a tray, allowing for full frontal and edge viewing.

When you choose a frame that will surround a stretched canvas, it is very wise to consider the material from which the frame is constructed. Wood is prone to ooze resin over the course of years of display in the dry environment of homes or offices. Conservationists recommend that the rabbet (the tiny ledge that holds the painting in the frame) be coated with an inert sealer so that the discoloration and acids from the wood have a barrier to hold them away from the painting. The coating can be something as simple as two to three coats of painting medium or any acid-free polymer gel.

Museums and conservators have raised a very important question about the preservation of artworks on canvas. Heretofore, it has been considered poor preservation to enclose a painting under glass. However, new thoughts have arisen that voice concerns about prolonged exposure to damage from environmental contamination. It now seems that the protection offered by displaying paintings behind glass far outweighs the "suffocation" that the art might suffer. Air will still be able to get into the art through the back side of the framed package and the frontal attack by dirt and pollution will be greatly diminished. But always space the glass above the surface of the art. Do this with a liner or spacers to elevate the glass so that it does not touch any part of the painting's surface.
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