Professional Framing Techniques
By Armand Cabrera
Framing is almost as important as the painting itself. While people can disagree on the color or style of frame there are some basic approaches to framing that makes your work look more professional.
These are the steps I take when framing a painting
Here is how my frame looks just out of the box.
When I remove it from the plastic the first thing I do is put my name on it. This prevents galleries and venues from swapping my nice metal leaf or in some cases gold leaf frame with finished corners for some cheap chopped frame from Graphic Dimensions or Michaels. I also put the title on the back of the painting and a sticker with contact info. This allows collectors to find me since most galleries nowadays don’t give out collector info to the artists.
Next I put rubber bumpers or felt bumpers on all the corners so the frame doesn’t leave marks on the wall. If I have a case where I am framing stretched canvas I put them on the corners of the stretched canvas if it makes contact with the wall instead of the frame when it hangs.
Once I screw in the clips I place the wire holders and attach those to the frame low enough that the wire will form a triangle shape when hanging but not stick out above the frame.
Next I get my picture hanging wire and attach one side to the wire holder. I do this by looping the wire thought the holders ring twice and then twist it back along the wire.
This insures it won’t unravel and bonk someone on the head while my painting is hanging above them on the couch.
I then measure where I want the wire to end at its apex. I do this so when it hangs it doesn’t stick out above the frame. I cut the other side of the wire and fasten it in the same way.
I’m done and the picture is ready to hang on the wall. Only 24 more to go for the show this week at Narmada.
Framing is almost as important as the painting itself. While people can disagree on the color or style of frame there are some basic approaches to framing that makes your work look more professional.
These are the steps I take when framing a painting
When I remove it from the plastic the first thing I do is put my name on it. This prevents galleries and venues from swapping my nice metal leaf or in some cases gold leaf frame with finished corners for some cheap chopped frame from Graphic Dimensions or Michaels. I also put the title on the back of the painting and a sticker with contact info. This allows collectors to find me since most galleries nowadays don’t give out collector info to the artists.
Next I put rubber bumpers or felt bumpers on all the corners so the frame doesn’t leave marks on the wall. If I have a case where I am framing stretched canvas I put them on the corners of the stretched canvas if it makes contact with the wall instead of the frame when it hangs.
Never nail your paintings into your frames if someone wants to swap the frame down the line you have to use something that doesn’t hurt the wood. I use offset clips or S clips to do the job. This way I can swap my paintings in and out of the frame with just a screwdriver.
I keep a number of sizes for the different sizes of my paintings. Because this image is on linen panel the clip is facing down into the frame.
If it was stretched linen I would flip the clip over so it stood out away from the frame to hold the canvas.
Once I screw in the clips I place the wire holders and attach those to the frame low enough that the wire will form a triangle shape when hanging but not stick out above the frame.
Next I get my picture hanging wire and attach one side to the wire holder. I do this by looping the wire thought the holders ring twice and then twist it back along the wire.
I’m done and the picture is ready to hang on the wall. Only 24 more to go for the show this week at Narmada.
My desk
I've been glued to my desk all week working on a very exciting project! + Drawing in the park + drawing at night + drawing early in the morning. Busy bee. No time for watching x-files!
Pressed in a book
A collection of pressed paper-thin flowers.
I would like to write a love note to accompany these, then seal them up in a cellophane envelope and send them across the sea.
All i really wanna do these days is fall in love and lie in the sun. Maybe that's quite clear. I suppose springtime does this to people. pollen in your eyes and ears makes you a little loopy, huh.
I would like to write a love note to accompany these, then seal them up in a cellophane envelope and send them across the sea.
All i really wanna do these days is fall in love and lie in the sun. Maybe that's quite clear. I suppose springtime does this to people. pollen in your eyes and ears makes you a little loopy, huh.
Workshop and one man show at Anderson Fine Art Gallery
by
Armand Cabrera
Armand Cabrera
Clam Creek 36x48
Passing Rain 24x36
For those of you in the area I will be teaching a four day workshop followed by my one man show in Saint Simon’s Island Georgia. There is still room in the workshop if anyone is interested. I will be showing students how I approach a painting outdoors and in the studio and how to organize and complete small sketches on location in one sitting. We will go over composition, color theory and mixing from a limited palette, drawing, and application. Information is here or you can call the gallery directly at 912 634 8414.
View of Cumberland Island 24x30
Marsh Edge 18x24
My one man show is called Seascapes and Shorelines and I will have 15 new paintings. The paintings range in size from 36x48 down to 18x24. These larger works represent 6 months of my studio time this year. All are done from onsite sketches and photos from my trips to the area. I was really focused on emotional content and mood for these paintings. I love painting in the golden isles of Georgia I am looking forward to the show. The show will be up for a month and the artists reception will be from 6 pm to 8 pm October 7th.
First Light 36x48
Sunrise 24x36
Art or Illustration
By Armand Cabrera
N.C. Wyeth
The conversation about art and illustration keeps coming up. People want to draw a line making one better than the other. I think this is foolish.
Since I work both sides of the fence as it were, I thought I would lay out a couple of things I’ve noticed about the different disciplines and maybe help dispel some myths about both along the way.
Aldro Hibbard
First myth, gallery artists have to sell which means they have to paint what people want and that means they are just like illustrators. Wrong. In gallery work people may commission you to paint a painting, they may even ask you to paint a specific scene but what they don’t do is ask you to submit roughs, then color studies and then fiddle with your picture as you paint it. Gallery artists paint what they want to paint and then take it to a gallery that sells it for them. No one has ever told me to fix or change a painting that I have delivered to a gallery. This happens all the time in illustration. Very few illustrators get a phone call for work, come up with an idea and paint an image for the client without outside feedback on that image.
Second myth, gallery artists are more artistic than illustrators. Wrong. The level of artistic accomplishment lays with the individual not the profession. Many golden age illustrators have stood the test of time and the works they created are now considered art. I would argue their work was always art. Their work has transcended the original intent of the painting. Some gallery work on the other hand has not done so well because of its trite treatment or overly sentimental subject matter.
Jeff Jones
Third myth, if you take money for your art you are selling out. Wrong. Selling out is a term that gets thrown about quite a bit in the artist versus illustrator discussion. Artists look at illustrators as sellouts for offering their work as a commodity designed by a committee. Those same artists have no problem giving up their self-respect begging for grant money to fund their projects or going to openings trying to sell paintings at a show of their work. I think selling out is copying another artists style for monetary gain. Neither profession can claim the high ground here. And both fields have their hacks that chase the style of whatever artist is commanding the most work and highest prices. I see it in galleries and illustration.
People who respect their craft and their profession create things worthy of any museum; to label it unworthy because of the original intent is ignorant. All creative work is communication and will be judged by the ability to reach other people. An artist must impart truth to what they create for it to have value beyond the moment. Successful artists must satisfy the needs of their profession and the desires of their soul if they wish to survive and continue to create works that can stand the test of time.
Dennis Miller Bunker
All art for this article is copyrighted to the respective artists, their estates or the artwork owners
The conversation about art and illustration keeps coming up. People want to draw a line making one better than the other. I think this is foolish.
Since I work both sides of the fence as it were, I thought I would lay out a couple of things I’ve noticed about the different disciplines and maybe help dispel some myths about both along the way.
First myth, gallery artists have to sell which means they have to paint what people want and that means they are just like illustrators. Wrong. In gallery work people may commission you to paint a painting, they may even ask you to paint a specific scene but what they don’t do is ask you to submit roughs, then color studies and then fiddle with your picture as you paint it. Gallery artists paint what they want to paint and then take it to a gallery that sells it for them. No one has ever told me to fix or change a painting that I have delivered to a gallery. This happens all the time in illustration. Very few illustrators get a phone call for work, come up with an idea and paint an image for the client without outside feedback on that image.
Second myth, gallery artists are more artistic than illustrators. Wrong. The level of artistic accomplishment lays with the individual not the profession. Many golden age illustrators have stood the test of time and the works they created are now considered art. I would argue their work was always art. Their work has transcended the original intent of the painting. Some gallery work on the other hand has not done so well because of its trite treatment or overly sentimental subject matter.
Third myth, if you take money for your art you are selling out. Wrong. Selling out is a term that gets thrown about quite a bit in the artist versus illustrator discussion. Artists look at illustrators as sellouts for offering their work as a commodity designed by a committee. Those same artists have no problem giving up their self-respect begging for grant money to fund their projects or going to openings trying to sell paintings at a show of their work. I think selling out is copying another artists style for monetary gain. Neither profession can claim the high ground here. And both fields have their hacks that chase the style of whatever artist is commanding the most work and highest prices. I see it in galleries and illustration.
People who respect their craft and their profession create things worthy of any museum; to label it unworthy because of the original intent is ignorant. All creative work is communication and will be judged by the ability to reach other people. An artist must impart truth to what they create for it to have value beyond the moment. Successful artists must satisfy the needs of their profession and the desires of their soul if they wish to survive and continue to create works that can stand the test of time.
All art for this article is copyrighted to the respective artists, their estates or the artwork owners
Drawing How To: Pencil Masters
By Armand Cabrera
I thought I would post some drawings by artists I think are the best at landscape drawing. These drawings are more than rough sketches and show a command of handling and design. This type of drawing is becoming a lost art with computers, photos and projectors. I like both these artists for different reasons, they each capture the truth of a scene at the same time imparting their own style to it.
Ted Kautzky
Ted kautzky books on bookfinder
James Duffield Harding
JD Harding free google books
I thought I would post some drawings by artists I think are the best at landscape drawing. These drawings are more than rough sketches and show a command of handling and design. This type of drawing is becoming a lost art with computers, photos and projectors. I like both these artists for different reasons, they each capture the truth of a scene at the same time imparting their own style to it.
Ted Kautzky
Ted kautzky books on bookfinder
James Duffield Harding
JD Harding free google books
Pressed flowers and scribbles and thoughts that i've either had for a long time or am currently musing over.
Suddenly i feel like making things again, - but still being kept secret are all of those insane things that i wrote in capital letters when delusional with the flu. Things have to be released.
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