Frame it yourself
Snide Comments about buying art to match the furniture, come over the years, like a never-ending critique on art buyers. There is no proof that having a matching couch can diminish a piece of art, and there may be some evidence to the contrary. Reality is, you do have to live with the art you buy. Here at Midnight Gallery, we think that buying original art and doing your framing is the way to go. Now what do we mean by doing your own? Well, it depends, below is a little brainstorming on framing.
It's important to pick the art that speaks to you without considering the color of the walls and the style of the room it may go in. When you do the framing yourself, it gives you a chance to bridge that gap between the style of the room and that of the piece of work, It's truly an art to get this right. In the past, I've found amazing framers in little shops that were so good and taught me how to look at the piece change with different borders and frames. If you do find a framer, showing them a few photos of the room the piece will go in can help them to help you. Maybe you are a more DIY kind of person, and you can just see the room, see the art, and see a way to bring them together, and if that's the case there are tons of places you can go and pick up the materials you need to complete your project.
Different types of work require different types of frames, the stretched canvases can be hung just as they are, or you can add a bulky frame around it to give it more weight on the wall. Traditional stretched canvas frames are called pleinaire frames and they are generally pretty inexpensive and look stately. Those never need glass, acrylic paint is essentially plastic and can be wiped with a damp cloth over the years, the same will work for an oil painting.
I think if you can walk into a shop, instead of shopping online, it's best to bring the artwork with you. Carry it in, and look at it in various frames that are available. Just make sure it's protected and won't be worse for the journey.
The photographs that are printed on archival papers, should be framed under glass with archival materials, like the gorgeous photographs that Maurice prints on fine art papers and the historically printed photographs that Kimbre makes. Some processes are more light-sensitive than others, the rule is if you spend money on art, you should spend money on the glass. UV protection at least, conservation coating is even better. This will protect the colors in the piece, and the density over time won't break down from sunlight coming into the room. A few of the photographic processes that Kimbre prints, Tri-Color Gum Bichromate is the most archival photographic process ever invented, with platinum palladium being a runner-up. Argyrotypes and Van Dyke browns are pretty archival two. Cyanotype is the vulnerable one, unless she tea tones them, in which case, they won't fade either. Although if they are watercolored, that could fade over time in direct sunlight, each pigment is different… So, again, best to get good glass if you can, and if you can't just don't put art in direct sunlight.
Loose prints and prints floated on mat boards are ideal for doing your framing, and it reduces the concerns of shipping glass and allows you to give it a try to make a bridge between the artwork and your space. I'd also say, give the art a chance to pick its room. Walk it around and see if it agrees with your initial reaction to where it should be in your space.
Busy art needs simple frames, and sometimes tiny art can be in big frames, everything depends, on the art and the space. Think about where you sit in a room, how you move through it, and when you will see the piece. Will it be something you see every day on the way out the door or something you watch the light change as you sip your morning coffee? The savings and the impact come into play when you put a body of work throughout a room with matching frames, it can drive the entire style, of the room. Designers always love to buy Kimbre, out of her loose prints, because they know exactly, how to use small pieces of original art to bring a space together.
It also helps us out, because shipping is expensive and glass is fragile and we can't tell you how many hours of our lives we spent making boxes because we must double box anything with glass. So, go ahead, get some loose art, and do your framing! Make it easier with a piece we already floated on a mat or matted for you. You'll be so proud when it's done!
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