“Should i frame or should i go with my naked paintings ?”
In the gold rush, the shovel retailors were the richest…
Well, framing a picture is really expensive. furthermore, it had to be framed before the exhibition to give something more to the painting. So the painter had to frame the painting and as one knows, the painter is not a frame specialist and not very rich.
Frame investment is something difficult (money/money/money) for the painter and that leads to major issues :
- Hard to think all this money spend in the framing.
- Artist buy some cheap and not a good matching frames.
- They have no idea where the people want to put the paintings, and the frame really depends on the wall color. (think about that …)
As i have put my first paintings in gallery, one said i should frame them. So i’ve been thinking about that. I like D.I.Y, but the frames i allready done took me lot of time to make and the 45° cut is really, really hard to do. (i mean it, even whith a special saw…).
Professional framing.
I say then, let’s think about a professional framing. This is expensive, really expensive.The first idea could be the use of standard canvas size, so i could buy several frame for the best price, butlet see if you can make something ok with your own hands (you allready make something good with your brushs, so let’s see..).
D.I.Y framing.
So, your wallet is a little thin and you have decided to frame your paintings yourself. As i allready try this, let me show you the different steps of this and the average price.
Step 1 . Go in your D.I.Y favorite shop, grab few square section stick, wich will make the hard structure, supporting the front and lovely framing. Cut the half of each tip following the picture (jigsaw = 9 euros inyour DIY shop ; 4 meters of wood stick, approx 8 euros).Use a glue and screw to fix the 4 corners. After that, you’ll get a lovely frame, but unsufficient for giving a good support to your painting.
Step 2. Once assembled, you can now put a lovely moulded frame on the first frame. You can find theses in the D.I.Y shop, with different width and structure. So let’s by 4 meters of theses (15 euros) and back to your benchwork (2 folding trestle = 40 euros, one board = 10 euros).
The main issue is the 45 degre cut in the wood. (see figure). It is the most difficult thing you will have to cope with. Different solution for that. Use a sawable to cut a 45°. Two different possibilities : the circular saw (60-300 euros)and the manual saw (20 euros). After many try and wasting few meters of wood you would be finally able to make a lovelly 45° cut.
After that, just glue the lovely frame to the other frame. Use some grips to make the two frameholding shoulder to shoulder. Wait 1-2 days and you will finally get a wooden frame. Use any color you ant on it, or just few brushstrokes of varnish on it and it’ll be ok. So you have now a nice frame made by you, wich looks stunning !!!
How much we have spend so far ?
- first frame wood :Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8 euros
- jigsaw :Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9 euros
- folding trestle and board : 50 euros
- manual saw for 45° cuts : 20 euros
- wood varnishing : Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 10 euros
- grips, wrench,tools :Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 20 euros
Ok, lets say 20 euros (average size painting) of material for each frame with a 100 euros investment tools. So it is cheaper, but not the professional finishing….
D.I.Y customized framing.
I’ve been looking for another way to frame. I was looking something completely different here are my requirements
- A frame you can make indoor
- A frame wich don’t require workbench,
- A frame with 4 perfects 90° angles.
- A frame wich doesn’t require any saw
- A selection of different colors.
- A frame not so expensive (25 euros/frame)
- And topping on the cake : a frame i ca re-use, extend or shrink for another painting.
So, what is it ? Well, i’ve ordered materials yersteday and will collect them today… you will get the first snapshot of this frame in January….