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artwork mounted within the frame: Mount / Float / Float Mount
/ Close Framing |
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Close Framing; The simplest way to present a picture
is to put the frame directly against the edge of the picture.
This is most commonly found on oil paintings and other works
on canvas, it is also a popular choice with posters. The width
and style of the moulding can make a drastic difference to
the impression created. Thin aluminiums can give a business-like
or "high-tech" look which works exceptionally well
with photographic images. Posters are often set off by plain
brightly coloured frames. For framing portraits the traditional
answer is a broad ornate gilded frame but modern styles of
painting often benefit from more simple shapes such as rounded
top sections in warm shades of natural wood.
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Window Mount; This is where a card border is placed
over the edges of a picture. It usually has bevelled edges
and can be either plain or decorated with a variety of techniques
such as wash lines. It helps to keep the picture away from
the glass, can be used to mask off unwanted areas of a picture
and enhances the presentation by providing a crisp and clean
margin.
This is the most frequently used method of presentation for
traditional works like watercolours and drawings while it
also shows contemporary prints off to great advantage particularly
with broad mounts in subtle pale tones.
Very bright colours should be avoided with most pictures as
there is a risk of overpowering subtle colour relationships
within the picture but they can be used to great effect when
framing something like a child's painting where strong primary
colours can be strikingly emphasised by a well chosen complementary
colour.
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Float; This is when the picture is laid onto the surface
of a board with the edges of the work displayed. It is frequently
used in conjunction with a Fillet which is a strip of wood or
mountboard which holds the artwork away from the glass but is
concealed under the rebate of the frame. With large artworks
quite a substantial space may be needed to ensure paper and
glass do not touch. Any atmospheric moisture will naturally
condense on the glass in a frame which is why artworks should
not be put against the glass.
Many contemporary works on paper are framed by this method especially
when the paper is an intrinsic part of the artwork. Heavyweight
hand-made watercolour papers look particularly good displayed
like this where the natural waviness of the paper can be accommodated
and a feature made of the interesting character of the deckled
edge. Three dimensional works and objects are also treated in
this way using deep fillets to produce a box-like effect.
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Float Mount; This is a combination of a Window
Mount with a Float where the bevel of the window mount lies
outside the edge of the artwork. It helps to define the edge
of a work without concealing any part of it. Traditional works
or historical ephemera which need to be presented as complete
sheets benefit from this form of presentation allowing inspection
of the whole item. It is also used for contemporary work which
needs to be seen in full but requires some definite edge to
contain it. It gives a very stylish appearance when the same
board is used for the float and for the mount. |
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THINGS
THAT WE HAVE FRAMED |
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Stained Glass, Roman Coins, Coptic Textiles, South American
Feather Headdress, Christening Gowns, Slate, Pregnancy Testing
Strip (used), Property Title Deeds, Royal Warrants, Medals,
Wall & Floor Tiles, Human Tissue (don’t ask), Postage
Stamps, Bouquets of Icing Sugar Flowers, Gold Disc, Complete
Magazines & Books, Windscreen Sticker, Dog Lead, Sea Urchin
Shells, Rugby Shirts, Royal Funeral Coffin Drape, Stock Exchange
Jackets, Saltdough Sculpture… and that’s just what
we can remember. |
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You will find choosing frames a lot easier if you give it a
little bit of thought before you visit us (we have a habit of
asking lots of questions when we are choosing frames with people).
Try some of these.
WHAT SORT OF FRAMES DO YOU LIKE?
Plain, thin, ornate, wide, gold, wood, metal… Some people
like to keep the style of their frames within a certain range
while others prefer every one to be different.
IS IT VALUABLE?
Are you framing it because you want to protect and preserve
its value or do you just want it to look good on the wall. Are
you prepared to limit your aesthetic choices to ensure better
protection (some methods of presentation just aint good for
a picture)
HOW LONG DO YOU WANT IT TO LAST?
…forever; as long as you do; a few years; a couple of
months; weeks (no really, some people only need them to last
that long).
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO HANG IT?
Some people like to select frames that match a furnishing scheme
while others prefer to choose frames that will fit in anywhere.
DO YOU ALREADY HAVE FRAMES IT WILL HANG WITH?
If all your frames have a similar style you may find that choosing
a radically different style may cause you headaches when you
come to hang it.
DO YOU MIND IF THE ARTWORK IS TRIMMED?
It is our policy not to cut pictures unless we have been instructed
to do so by the owner. Bear in mind that some artworks will
lose value if they are trimmed and historical information may
be lost, for example art historians can deduce information about
an artists working practice by studying sheet size, watermarks,
methods of stretching, cutting etc. On the other hand we often
see artworks where the image has been randomly or badly placed
on the sheet and where to preserve the full sheet would inhibit
the best presentation of the image.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR PAPER FLAT?
It rarely is completely you know, but this often only becomes
obvious once it is in a frame. Many things will cause paper
to distort; heat, moisture, pressure, working processes. We
prefer to allow paper to show its true character and the effects
the making of an artwork have had on it but if you find distortion
obtrusive or you really do need it to be flat then there are
often ways to make it so. Please bear in mind that the methods
may be risky, irreversible or cause your artwork to lose value
~ we’ll be happy to expain what is possible when we see
the picture. |
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