Framed

mitre cutter

It seems like ages now that I have been framing my paintings ready for my solo show in May this year.  My natural happy state is in my studio painting or planning a painting but preferably in the midst of a large colour- saturated composition that is demanding my full attention.  So I have to pull myself out of the paint screaming and kicking to focus on the framing and presentation that comes with exhibitions.  About 10 or more years ago I invested in some framing equipment so since then I have done all my own framing.   I was inspired to create my standard frame to date, from seeing a photograph of a  1913 Matisse exhibition where he had over-seen the framing and had chosen a simple limed-white frame instead of

Matisse's paintings from Morocco 1913

the ornate Baroque frames that I used to associate his work with.
  I try and keep as contemporary and simple as possible and I have kept the same frame more or less since I started making my own  ie a clean-edged slightly built up frame in limed wood or charcoal stained wood. 

paintings ready for show 2007

However this year I going to minimize the frame even more, by using a floating frame, ie a box frame with a slight gap between the canvas and the frame so that the canvas is emphasized rather than the frame. 

Baton-frame on The Invitation painting

Recent Paintings in workshop to be framed

I have been inspired to do this by a gallery owner in Amsterdam who is dealing with my work at the moment and who had a customer who wanted a very simple black baton around a painting she purchased.  I liked the way the simple frame intensified my colours even more and also highlighted the 2-Dimensional qualities of my work which under-pins my philosophy on painting.

Recent Paintings 2015 waiting for May

  So I have set my framing skills a task and it has been a learning curve, (polite way of saying I have been tearing my hair out) and very time-consuming but its all part of the process of producing paintings, so I am happy to do it.  But looking forward to a few weeks ahead when I can concentrate on some new painting ideas!!

 new floating frame Mount Usher Gardens from Tapestry collection 2011