Petersfield Framing Studios

"We Collect and Deliver Your Picture Framing"

 

Picture Framing by Andy Parks, MA, G.C.F.

 

What Would You Frame…?

More or less anything (within reason!) can be framed. We have extensive experience in framing such items as photographs, oil paintings, watercolours, prints, posters, etchings, pastels, certificates, medals, tapestries and embroideries, pencil sketches, papyrus, newspaper articles to list but a small selection. Here are a few basic pieces of advice when framing some of the above items.

 

Photographs

Usually the photographs that we have framed are favourite photos that have been enlarged for display purposes. The best way to display photographs is to over mount them in a suitable colour and then frame them. If you put them straight into a frame, the glossy nature of the photograph's surface can cause the photo to stick to the glass. Something that always looks excellent when displayed is a collection of photos framed in one frame. This is best achieved in a multiple aperture mount like this example of the total solar eclipse at Fécamp, France on August 11th 1999.

Such ideas could be a set of family photographs, such as your children's or grand children's school photographs in one frame. Alternatively a very popular choice has been photos of your favourite pets in one frame. Multiple aperture mounts are a speciality of ours and it is always a picture framing project that gives us tremendous satisfaction when it is finished.

 

Watercolours

These are best framed using conservation or museum standard materials as the lower acid contents or neutral pH levels of these materials help to preserve the watercolour's subtle colours. Higher rated Ultra Violet light filtration glass or museum glass can also be useful for preserving the colours of watercolours. The best results are often achieved with double over mounts, like the watercolour below.

Using more than one colour mount ensures that more than one colour section of the watercolour is emphasised. We also offer cleaning and restoration of watercolours as part of our service.

 

Oil Paintings

These are usually best framed without over mounts and without glass. They can also traditionally suit a heavier or wider moulding. If you have an oil painting on canvas, perhaps purchased on a recent holiday, we can stretch your oil paintings onto stretchers and then frame them with whichever frame you choose. See example below of a small Van Gogh oil (unfortunately not the real thing!).

Alternatively you could just hang the oil "frameless" after it has been stretched by us over wooden stretchers, which is a recent trend in displaying contemporary oil paintings. If you have a slightly older oil painting, it may need restoration, such as re-lining of the canvas or re-varnishing. This is a service that is also offered by us. Alternatively we can provide a cheaper service of dry mounting the oils onto board and then framing them in your choice of frame.

 

Prints and Posters

These can be framed with or without over mounts. Sometimes it is perfectly acceptable to leave the white borders showing so that the titles and the artist's name are displayed when framed. Posters are usually best displayed if they are "dry mounted" onto mount board. This prevents them "cockling" up with temperature change such as exposure to hot and cold walls with radiators turning on and off through the course of the day. Even season change can cause prints to expand and contract and eventually cause cockling during this process if not dry mounted. If you do not want the weight of glass, then your posters can be laminated to protect them in the same way as glass would, such as the example below of Damon Hill

. If you are framing a limited edition print, it is also recommended that you choose conservation or museum quality mount boards to protect the colours of the print.

 

Tapestries and Embroideries

These are always stretched before framing to keep them straight and flat. The method of stretching that we used is called lacing. This is a conservation technique where the needlework is stretched and laced over museum quality mount board, like the example below.

This is a totally reversible technique as the lace can simply be cut and the needlework can be returned to its original state before framing if this is ever required. The best way again is to overmount any needlework that has raised stitch work, such as a cross stitch or an embroidery. The over mount provides a space between the glass and the stitch work to prevent the delicate stitches from being pushed flat by the glass. With woollen tapestries, the space between the glass and the stitch work is not always necessary as the wool does not flatten down as much as cross stitch. Therefore these can go straight into the frame.

 

Something More Unusual, Perhaps?

You may well be thinking that you have an item that you would like framed but are unsure if it can be framed. As an example of some of the more unusual picture or objects customers have given to me to frame, here are just a few items that I have framed in the last 21 years.

Signed sports shirts, such as rugby, football or cricket have become quite a favourite framing project in recent years and they also make a good present for the ardent supporter. Medals are a very interesting subject to frame and can be framed permanently or on their bars so that they can be worn again when required using a removable back frame. Other unusual tasks have included:

A signed cricket bat.
A stuffed canary (I kid you not!)
A Chinese food serving set consisting of nine enamel dishes
An orchestra conductor's baton with sheet music
A horse riding saddle
A Kunjhar dagger in its sheath

These represent some of the more unusual items that I have framed in the past. Perhaps you have just such a framing project? Why not contact us to discuss how it could be framed?