How To Frame A Pastel Painting Without A Mat

There are two ways to mat art.

How to frame a pastel painting without a mat.

Some pastel papers are sturdy enough to be framed without a backing board or back mat if the artwork is on paper that is not heavy weight then it is recommended to attach it to a backing board. Frame pastels either with a mat or without a mat in a frame. Here is a painting of a waffle with a mat. Handle pastel paintings extremely gently if when working face side down.

Since i think the latter is too stuffy for my taste and especially since mat cutters are hard to use without damaging the mat i opted for attaching my art to the top of the mat. For this large scale photograph by kt merry a thin mat is exactly what s needed to set the artwork apart from our vintage gold heritage frame. With the sticks alread. I cut thin strips of the tape and equal size strips of the mat board then i adhere the tape to the glass so it will be hidden by the lip of the frame and put the strip of mat board on the tape that the pastel will be.

Many pastel artists are abandoning traditional mat and frame presentations and replacing them instead with wide wood frames. This is one of my daily paintings. Lay the art on top of the mat or cut a hole in the mat and place the art behind it. Frame in the following layers from top to bottom.

I prefer to frame without mats and make my own spacers with a double stick tape usually command strips and acid free mat board. Drowning princess from jvdas berra available at these fine walls is a large scale photograph reads almost like a painting when framed full bleed in our gallery frame in luxe gold. Using spacers between the art and the mat or glass is a very good idea. The framer should not lay a ruler or mat or frame samples on top of the pastel.

Many painters find it superfluous to discuss the frame feeling that the artwork should matter most. The frame is analogous to the clothing one wears for a job interview. Artist susan pitcairn demonstrates how to set a pastel into a frame without the use of a mat. She uses econospace sticks by frame tek.

But it can t be denied that the framing plays a major part in how the painting will be viewed. This allows the pastel to look less like a print or poster which commonly have a wide surrounding border. These works are attracting the attention of the canvas buying public. It is a small 5 x 7 in.

How to frame a pastel is one of the most frequently asked questions i hear during a painting workshop.