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Read on for my latest Tips & Tricks blog ~
Here's a quick primer on framing for all mediums:
Framing Oil & Acrylics
1. Place
painting into frame
2. Position
4 offset clips around painting and mark with pencil
3. Make
starter holes with awl and screw in clips
4. Measure
1/4 to 1/5 down from top of frame and make starter hole with awl for hanging
harware
5. Install
D-mirror hangers
6. Wrap
wire onto hangers, leaving 2” to 3” drop from top of frame.
Framing Watercolors
1. Measure
painted height and width of artwork and subtract those numbers from the height
and width of the frame, then divide by 2 to determine the width of the mat
2. Adjust
the width of the mat to be as close to even all around as possible.
3. Tape
artwork onto mat.
4. Label
back of mat with the following information: title, medium, artist, artist’s
town and state, date and location if appropriate
5. Place
glass into frame (thoroughly cleaning beforehand)
6. Place
matted artwork onto glass.
7. Cut
foam board to fit inside rabbet
8. Cut
enough foam board to level the back of the frame
9. Shoot
flexpoints into back of frame to hold foam boards in place
10. Cut piece
of brown paper for back of frame
11. Put
double-stick tape (AGT) around perimeter on back of frame
12. Put brown
paper tautly over tape, burnishing and rubbing to make a good adhesion
13. Using
X-acto knife or paper-backing cutter, cut excess brown paper off.
14. Mark with
pencil where hanging hardware will be installed (approximately ¼ to 1/5 the way
down)
15. Make
starter hole with awl
16. Screw in
D-mirror hangers in awl hole
17. Install
hanging wire to drop 1-1/2” to 2” from top of frame
18. Repeat #4
onto brown paper.
Framing Pastels
1. Repeat
#1-2 above
2. Before
taping art to mat, glue a narrow strip of mat board on the inside bottom of the
cut mat, to allow pastel dust to fall in behind the mat. Then attach with tape only the top of the art
to the inside of the mat.
3. Repeat
#4 to #18 to finish.
Framing Pastels Without Using A Mat:
1. Cut
a piece of foam board to fit snuggly inside of frame (but take it out before the next step)
2. Using
a tiny spot of glue, affix pastel to foam board in all four corners.
3. Cut
balsa wood (or plastic frame spacers) to fit inside rabbet of frame, beveling
all four corners so that they fit snugly.
Remove from frame.
4. paint
balsa wood black
5. Place
glass into frame (hopefully, glass will
fit rather snug also, to make this type of framing go well.) Make sure glass is spotlessly clean.
6. Glue
balsa wood to inside of frame, on top of glass.
7. Position
artwork into frame
8. Repeat
#8-#18 till finished.
Floater Frames
Appearing as if “floating” within frame with a space of
about 1/2” between painting and inside of frame. Best when using gallery-wrapped canvas and
painting around sides, as a small portion of sides is visible inside frame.
9. Drill
one hole on each side of frame from blackside.
10. Place
stretched canvas into frame.
11. Using
spacers such as foam board, place them all around inside the space between the
canvas and the inside of frame, adding more until it fits evenly and snugly
12. Slip over
edge of table, and going underneath, put screws through holes and screw into
wooden stretcher frame.
13. Repeat #14
to #17. No brown paper needed.
And now, a note about portrait painting . . .
How to Paint a Live Portrait in a Dozen Little Steps:
1.
Prime your canvas
I like to use either a sea foam green, beige-ish or orange-ish, using a big
brush and whichever color mixed with turp.
(dries fast and is ready to paint over soon).
2.
Form and Structure
Consider the planes of the face, and the relationships between its features,
for example, eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
3.
Light
Decide where you want the light to come from in relation to the model and based
on the planes of the face, using the a position of the hands of a clock as a
guide, and stick with it throughout your painting.
4.
Point of view
The position of the painter in relation to the model is vitally important, as
is the distance. Find your comfort level
and preference, and the best angle according to where the light falls, the most
interesting curves and angles of the face, and whether you want the model to
look directly at the viewer or to look away.
5.
Photograph
Take several photographs when the lighting and position of the model has been
established. Be sure to take the photo
from the exact location of where you intend to set up your easel.
6.
Sketch with raw umber or vine charcoal
Using broad strokes with raw umber and turpentine, paint in the structure of
the face, including the shadows, being sure not to get bogged down in detail.
7.
Color
With the introduction of the first basic colors, pay attention mass shapes,
color, form and light. Block in basic
forms in darks and lights, without giving any consideration to detail and not
getting hung up on likeness. These blocks of color help to sculpt and define
the basic form.
8.
Refining and background
Refine your subject with more color and shape, then paint in the background
(reshape the outside perimeters of head and torso as needed).
9.
Shadows
Add more dark values to the shadows of the face, using browns, reds and greens,
and still keeping brushstrokes broad and gestural.
10. Blending
dark to light
Blur the line between light and shadow to show dimension. Experiment with
scumbling a bit of orange or cadmium red within the transition, experimenting
also with greens with white added, for cooler tones.
11. Finer
and final details
Refine, recolor where needed, then put in the surface details – brow, skin
highlights and glistens, eye glisten and glow, embellishments, clothing
details, etc. Also reshape perimeter of
head and torso once more if needed. An
good estimate of how long the process takes, ¼ of the time will be spent on
priming and sketching, ¼ on blocking in, and ½ on refinement—which takes the
longest in order to make your painting look professional and get a good
likeness.
12. Sign,
and when dry (could be weeks but shoud be months), you can coat it with any
commercial oil painting coating. This
will give it an even sheen. However be
sure to take a photo of it before coating as the sheen creates more bounceback
of light and fools the camera.
