In preparation for the Atlanta Boat Show’s Gallery next month, I had a few originals framed. Usually, I do it myself with either custom-cut or standard mats with standard frames. However, I had five pieces that just wouldn’t fit into standard frames, no matter how I crammed.
I headed to Silver Dog Digital, the local place where they do prints, signs, framing, you name it. They did a beautiful job with my custom frames. Forgive the photos; the frames are wrapped in plastic for protection.
The first one is a pastel. I’ve tried building my own spacers, but since I am not equipped with a mat cutter, I have always done a horrible job. This one is spaced so close to the mat that it’s hard to see the gap, but it’s not touching.
Cuttlefish Eye by Meg Lyman
The second one involved a lack of foresight. I used a 5×7″ piece of Claybord, but I painted all the way to the edges. This’d be OK if it were cradled, but this is just a flat piece. Put a standard 5×7″ mat on it, and it cuts off a key part of the composition: that tiny strip of ground on the bottom. I had this mounted on a mat so the edges weren’t cut off.
Hawaii Sunrise by Meg Lyman
This one was just a weird size. Sennelier Hot Press watercolor paper comes in blocks of 4 1/8″ by 9 1/2″ or something like that. Custom frame required.
Chicago Skyline by Meg Lyman
I got two others framed: a 6×6″ stretched canvas with staples on the sides, and an ACEO. ACEOs are tricky, because at that small size, the 1/8″ required for a frame takes up a large percentage of the real estate.
It was expensive, but they’re beautiful – way better than I could have done – and I didn’t have to use the drill, hammer, paper cutter, scissors, or Windex. Also, the frames all match, which is part of what Casey recommended to me (sorry the mats don’t all match too… I couldn’t resist). I’ll price them for the show so that I’d get what I want for the original and have the frame completely paid for. And as long as I’m hypothesizing, they’ll all sell and I’ll get several big commissions and convert a horde of new patrons.
Have a great time at the show. Your framer did a great job, and you can be very proud of your display.
Hello Meg,
Wish you all the best for the sale !
By the way, watch out people who might want to pay you with bank certified cheques and who say they have a shipping agent who takes care of shipping, it’s a fraud. Some girl from UK tried to trap me with my elf painting which was for sale on ebay and facebook.
Ced
Hi Meg,
wish you luck on the sale! Hey I was goofing around on my blog over the weekend with that silly little widget about how smart we’re supposed to be…….well i found out if I remove all the free advertizing on my site I get a reading of gradeschool level. but when I put all the advertizing back I get a genius level…..hummmmmmmmmmmm? do you think there is a connection? Because if you go to my site there is very little words and most of them mis-spelled hahahahahahaha
Have a great day My freind….oh by the way I’m on a beer tasting quest now thanks to your fine deductions and it’s actually a lot of fun!
John
Thanks, Lisa. They did a wonderful job, and I hope it pays off.
Thanks, Ced, for the wishes and the warning. I’ve heard about scams like that on WetCanvas. Makes you twitchy, doesn’t it?
John, thanks for the wishes. I also heard about the ad stuff in the readability thing, but I removed it before I posted it. That is HILARIOUS that you get “genius” with the ad in. What a scam! Luckily there doesn’t seem to be much to it besides an ad. And that’s awesome about the beer tasting – let me know how it goes!