Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art and Writing

Framing tips.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Since I sell my art without a frame or mat, I get requests from buyers to give them some framing suggestions to take to their local frame shop.

I generally don't offer much as far as color of mat. I'm a white/off-white mat person myself. And as far as frames go, I generally veer towards the very plain in style, subdued colors, and wood.

In regards to matting technique, though, there are a couple of things I do offer up for advice.

First, I like to have at least a two inch mat around the right, left, and top sides of the image. That is the least. Personally, I go for a three or even four inch mat. It seems excessive, but I like to push the frame away from the image as far as I can. I prefer the look. However, it's also going to cost you more because your frame and other materials will increase in size. So, do what you do, but don't go smaller than two inches. Regarding the bottom of the mat, I always add a half inch to it for visual purposes. It sounds strange, but if you do an equal mat around the whole picture, it looks smaller on the bottom. It looks like there's not enough support for the picture that's being framed. You need to add a half inch, so if you're going with a two inch mat, the bottom will be a 2.5 inch mat.

Many of my paintings are taped to the board, so when I remove them, they have a white border all the way around the edge of the painting. Sometimes I sign on the painting, meaning it won't hurt to mat the traditional way and have the mat overlap and cover that white border. However, I often sign my name and title the piece in pencil in the white border. If you don't want to cover that, you'll need to use a technique called "floating" in which the mat doesn't overlap the picture, but frames it without touching it. The picture is still framed by the mat and actual frame, but it isn't covered in anyway.

I've made a diagram of what I've mentioned that should help clear up your questions: Framing Tips (PDF)