The Framers Forum

Why are rebates generally so skimpy? (Taxman included!) I'm looking for a thin (ish) hockey stick/ cushion head moulding, but suppliers only have pathetic rebates, bearing in mind that the average canvas stretcher requires a minimum 25 mm, therefore building any composite from generally available ma...

Question If a local authority offered you a large sum of money to reframe a public collection of valuable various modern British Paintings, would you accept the commission and reframe into a livery frame, and destroy the original frames? Or would you walk away. Presuming that restoring the original ...

Thanks, Prospero, early days. But wouldn't it be great if we could knock this boring minimalism into the long grass? I'm thinking of the wonderful decorative frames of Vienna 1900s.... How about light blue as a bole? Years ago I saw an amazing ancient Gerard David icon of a Madonna and child. When y...

StandenFA, thanks for your kind comment.

Yes, I like that very much, and the East Anglian school. I remember one leading framer advising against using slips if at all possible, that was their opinion anyway. Sorry, James, no idea, not my work. Though I suspect it isn't so much chipping and more some sort of nifty decorative technique... Pe...

We're doomed, we're all doomed.

Pour example

im with you on that, Prospero. Though two layers of solid colour well-chipped and distressed works in a similar way, but you're not a fan of the shabby-chic school?

I heard tell that there are people who go to all the trouble of soaking and melting rabbit skin glue to add to whiting in order to make gesso. Then they slap it on to pictureframes, sand it down with sandpaper and end up with a finish as fine as silk. I've even seen them wet the high points of the ...

I recently used a greyish White Bole under standard 22/23ct gold. (See photo)I had seen something similar on a very old decorative Italian piece. I don't think it is very successful, (partly due to the moulding)and wish there had been a way of visualising first... There's always photoshop, but.

I'm keen to get some sort of discussion going. Certain combinations work very well, others less so. The classic Venetian red with antique gold.... Or a more violet plum red with a more silvery greener gold for a greyish drawing. There are a few classic combinations? But perhaps people would rather n...

The combinations? Or just individual swatches. Btw. Handover were cheaper the last time I looked.

Sorry if this is old hat to the forum, but wouldn't it be great for us novices if there was a colour chart of various combinations of gold colours and bole colours?

Dutch Old Masters, failing that a Sid and Nancy photo.

Commendable, James. And perhaps for that piece the sharp reflections off the liquid polish work well. I found that by mixing a little Indian ink, and some dry black pigment into it it took a little of the glare off it, which was the look I was after. Think I may have even picked up the Indian ink ti...

Dark wax diluted with white spirit sounds great. There's a difference between white spirit and turpentine if I remember right. One dissolves synthetic varnish and the other doesn't -- tho might be writing nonsense. I used some black liquid polish from Liberon the othe day --- way too shiny for me. T...

[quote="prospero"]A lot of the Impressionists framed their work in simple white frames. It was only when some paintings became very 'important' and valuable and got into big public galleries that prestige overruled taste and they got humungous knobbly gilt frames. Prospero, I wonder if tha...

Yup, soften it up a bit. Gotcha, thanks, James.

Mark, my own feeling is that they are fairly timeless... But get your point, a bit much.

Prospero, thanks for the reply, in a muddled state I disappeared down a wormhole and missed your photo. I had meant to direct the question to James, and his very similar Craigie. But thanks, the worm has turned, and am enjoying yours, it works well, visually. Thanks for the thoughts, Kingswood. You'...