Critiquing a piece of framed work.

[Justintime]

This is a C1980 aquatint of mine that I reframed. When I'm framing for myself I find designing a lot more difficult, but try to shake things up a bit from my usual styles.
I'm rarely 100% happy with my own pieces once their done and would appreciate some critique from anyone willing. I know what I do and don't like about it, but I'd be interested to hear other opinions as we all have such different styles. The photo colours are fairly close.
Don't be shy, I can take it!

[Gesso&Bole]

There's no wrong or right with this. And I would happily hang it on the wall as it is, maybe even pretend I had framed it myself!

What would I have done myself?

I like the moulding and the mount colours, but I would reverse the mounts, get rid of the inner V groove and reduce the reveal to about half the size it is now.

[Not your average framer]

I don't usually v-groove the inner mounts of double mounts, but it is the sort of thing which is not out of keeping with something which looks rght for an older era. It's got that sort of authentic looking Victorian charm about it.

[Justintime]

Thanks Jim. Can you elaborate on why you'd reverse the mounts? Makes the piece too dark? Old fashioned?

[Not your average framer]

I really like the mounts as they are, it's a graduation from a darker brown on the frame, to a medium muted brown mount to a lighter muted brown on the inner mount. I think that it naturally draws the eye inwards to the artwork. It quite a classic look, I would say!

[pramsay13]

I love it generally and I like the colours and the frame.

My only complaint is that I think it's a bit busy around the print.
I would need to see it in person to know if the print can take that, it's difficult to tell with a photo.
It looks as though there is already the rounded mount with the title on it and then you've added 2 mounts with a v-groove.
Coupled with the frame with the sight edge you now have 5 things to look at from outside to inside before getting to the picture.

[vintage frames]

Hi Justin.
I like the way you have surrounded the picture with a well-mannered slightly rustic moulding. I would have preferred you to have chosen a similar profile from the bare-wood selection, stained it dark brown, waxed and added a similar understated gold slip.

The wide mount is good but I would have chosen a slightly lighter colour.

Where it all gets a bit mixed up is in the lines and contrasting colours around the image.
They don't relate to each other and have no visual harmony.
If you are going to do that sort of thing, then think in terms of sketching a small inner frame around the image. Imagine it as framing the artwork in isolation to the rest of the overall frame.

You can hit me now!

[Justintime]

All great points, thanks (except Mark's which are blocked so not visible, "sorry, not sorry")
It's definitely too busy. Pramsay, the rounded mount is actually the embossing, the plate mark from the printing press.
Dermot, happy for all the input.
Jim thought that the mounts should be reversed. Any more thoughts on that?
Does having a darker mount on top help connect the dark frame to the piece or would the lighter mount work better on top? Does the darker top mount draw your your eye to the print or not?

[Rainbow]

I like the darker mount on top, I think it makes it look more dramatic. I also like the fact that it's a solid mount so there's no distracting white bevel.

[vintage frames]

Here's what I mean, Justin.
You could cut out the small surrounding section close to the artwork and still have a frame that could be hung on a wall.

If you were to rearrange the lines on your mount then you could bring that effect into play.

[Justintime]

Not sure I understand. If relevant, the reason for the overall size of the piece (not that I dislike the mount width as it is) is that it's a numbered original and this is the size of the paper, which I did not want to cut down.
Do you mean stick to the one mount and mount right up to the image hiding the title signature etc and removing the plate mark and surrounding paper?

[Gesso&Bole]

Thanks Jim. Can you elaborate on why you'd reverse the mounts? Makes the piece too dark? Old fashioned?

I personally think that much of a dark colour is a bit overbearing. The overall impression of the piece on the wall will be of a “brown” picture. Whereas (imho) with the mount colours reversed, the dark brown as an undermount will lead the eye to see more contrast in the image. This will add depth, and give more emphasis on the image not the frame.

[Not your average framer]

Hi Dermot,

I like the top frame, it's very much my sort of thing. I make stacked moulding frames a lot like that myself, but one of the mouldings I use is obeche and the other pine, so I also add a wash as part of the finish to hide the fact the the two wood types don't completely match!

[Gesso&Bole]

Here's what I mean, Justin.
You could cut out the small surrounding section close to the artwork and still have a frame that could be hung on a wall.

Cut the artwork?

I can hear the sirens in the distance as the framing police are coming to arrest you!

[Justintime]

In this case I am policing myself. It belongs to me and I prefer to keep it original. You can be sure that I'll want to reframe/remount it one day. Who knows, it might even go up in value!

[vintage frames]

Oh dear, oh dear.

Sorry, it has to be my fault.
I did not mean to physically cut anything out!
I meant mask out the surrounding frame visually, so you see only the first 1 inch wide section around the sight edge.
Or does that make any sense yet?