What A Difference A Frame Makes

I was in a coffee shop and noticed that on one wall there were seven different pictures, all different sizes and all with different mats and frames – and what a difference a frame makes!

What A Difference A Frame Makes!

A mat, or mount, is the piece of thin, flat card or paper that is used to decorate the image and separate the image from the glass.

I read somewhere that the modern trend was towards pictures without frames, particularly canvas (as in the example An Angel Awaits above). But I think it depends upon the image and where it is going to hang.

For example, in my living room are five canvas prints of my work, three metal prints and seven framed prints. The framed prints are displayed on walls on their own and look good. I always feel it doesn’t look so good if I try a mix and match approach and have them hanging on the wall with the canvas prints. That may just be personal taste of course.

Going back to the coffee shop, the pictures displayed were so completely different the idea of hanging them together was completely crazy! But it worked wonderfully well! It really made me think twice about the idea of having matching frames within a wall space.

Adding A Mat And Frame

There is so much you can do with an image by playing with the mat and frame. If you have ever been to a picture framing shop you will know how much time it takes to compare the image with different colored mats and frame styles until you find just the perfect fit. A mat and frame that compliments an image shows it off to best effect. A poorly selected frame can ruin an image.

An Example

Let’s take one image and three different treatments just to show you how different the image can look. I am using my piece ‘Roof Tops Citta della Pieve’ as an illustration. The first example has the image placed with a white mat and a plain black frame.

The second has a warm colored mat and a black and brown frame with the brown towards the center of the frame. Comparing the two, the black and white framing option is clean although, for my tastes at least, a bit clinical looking.  The light sky and the mat sort of merge into each other. The second version has a warmer feel and brings out some of the correspondingly warm browns and terracotta within the image. It also provides a clean edge to the sky.

The third version takes a completely different approach with a grey/blue mat and a black frame with gold edges. This approach brings out the blue colors in the image that you may not have even noticed in the previous examples.

There are of course many different mat and frame variations. If you go to my Pictorem or RedBubble stores you can pull up an image and select the framed print option and see for yourself all of the different perspectives you can give the image by trying out different combinations of frame and mat. You can even see the piece in different room displays. Try it for yourself and see what a difference a frame makes.

Before you go

My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.

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Thank you for reading!