As a Christmas gift to myself and (mostly) from my parents, I'm getting some of the "professional" art that I have bought over the years framed with museum quality glass. I think it's called "Masterpiece glass." No need for matting, I can do that one myself! Hah.

But as an added bonus I'm also getting my ink and watercolored series framed-- along with my saxaphone drawing, because my mother likes that one.

I realized that the frame I had chosen for Berkley Beetle works for just about all my other pieces that have the same style. So the man working at the frame shop said that many artists have a signature frame. I thought that was a niffy idea. Something I would be interested in doing when I am able to afford my own studio. Something I never really noticed with art galleries that I have explored. And that's when I realized framing and matting can help a piece or "break" a piece. Something that is very important to consider.

I matte all my pieces in black and rarely on white and even more rarely with a marbled framed. So I can't choose a black frame-- too much black, right?

Any way, I really fancy metal frames for some reason. Yet, my mother dislikes metal frames for some reason, so I only got to "choose" from the wood frames. I am concerned about the oils that wood frames-- even AFTER the acid free tape is applied. After YEARS of hanging on a wall, I'm pretty sure that stuff fades, but metal can nick the corners so easily! D:

All in all, I decided to frame my ink and watercolor series in a wood frame called "Rainbow black." It is on the higher end of the "inexpensive" side. I took about 10+ pieces in and received estimates on just about all of them. The most expensive came out to be $85.00 (W=13.5;H=12.5) and lower. And that is with the museum quality glass too. (But this is just for the ink and water color series) The most expensive I bought that day was around $127 and some odd change.

Sidenote: ALL my pieces were PRE-MATTED (even the professional), so that cut down the cost A LOT! It may not be "top-notch," seeing as how I used public school cutters and mattes, but matting is so much fun when you do it yourself. So what if my pieces have a fuzz in the corner or are cut a littler over the piece size-- it's alright! Take pride in your work!

So I suggest for any artist-- look into framing! It's WAY more exciting than it sounds. Picking out mattes and frames and even the glass! Get ESTIMATES before you deiced on the place to get something framed. Because you do SEND OFF YOUR WORK-- too God knows where and ANYTHING can happen to your artwork. I know this is probably just perching to the choir, but seriously do it. You don't want to spend 30+ hours on a piece only for some company in bumblebee no where to nick the matte or tear the corner.

But if anyone has read thus far, what are your suggestions/opinions/thoughts on framing your art and possibly getting yourself a "signature" frame to attach to your name?

~PatchedJacket