Framing, Portraits

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Here's a quick primer on framing for all mediums:

Framing Oil & Acrylics

 1.      Place painting into frame

2.      Position 4 offset clips around painting and mark with pencil

3.      Make starter holes with awl and screw in clips

4.      Measure 1/4 to 1/5 down from top of frame and make starter hole with awl for hanging harware

5.      Install D-mirror hangers

6.      Wrap wire onto hangers, leaving 2” to 3” drop from top of frame.

Framing Watercolors

 1.      Measure painted height and width of artwork and subtract those numbers from the height and width of the frame, then divide by 2 to determine the width of the mat

2.      Adjust the width of the mat to be as close to even all around as possible.

3.      Tape artwork onto mat.

4.      Label back of mat with the following information: title, medium, artist, artist’s town and state, date and location if appropriate

5.      Place glass into frame (thoroughly cleaning beforehand)

6.      Place matted artwork onto glass.

7.      Cut foam board to fit inside rabbet

8.      Cut enough foam board to level the back of the frame

9.      Shoot flexpoints into back of frame to hold foam boards in place

10.  Cut piece of brown paper for back of frame

11.  Put double-stick tape (AGT) around perimeter on back of frame

12.  Put brown paper tautly over tape, burnishing and rubbing to make a good adhesion

13.  Using X-acto knife or paper-backing cutter, cut excess brown paper off.

14.  Mark with pencil where hanging hardware will be installed (approximately ¼ to 1/5 the way down)

15.  Make starter hole with awl

16.  Screw in D-mirror hangers in awl hole

17.  Install hanging wire to drop 1-1/2” to 2” from top of frame

18.  Repeat #4 onto brown paper.

Framing Pastels

1.      Repeat #1-2 above

2.      Before taping art to mat, glue a narrow strip of mat board on the inside bottom of the cut mat, to allow pastel dust to fall in behind the mat.  Then attach with tape only the top of the art to the inside of the mat.

3.      Repeat #4 to #18 to finish.

Framing Pastels Without Using A Mat:

1.      Cut a piece of foam board to fit snuggly inside of frame (but take it out before the next step)

2.      Using a tiny spot of glue, affix pastel to foam board in all four corners.

3.      Cut balsa wood (or plastic frame spacers) to fit inside rabbet of frame, beveling all four corners so that they fit snugly.  Remove from frame.

4.      paint balsa wood black

5.      Place glass into frame (hopefully, glass will fit rather snug also, to make this type of framing go well.)  Make sure glass is spotlessly clean.

6.      Glue balsa wood to inside of frame, on top of glass.

7.      Position artwork into frame

8.      Repeat #8-#18 till finished.

Floater Frames

 Appearing as if “floating” within frame with a space of about 1/2” between painting and inside of frame.  Best when using gallery-wrapped canvas and painting around sides, as a small portion of sides is visible inside frame. 

9.      Drill one hole on each side of frame from blackside.

10.  Place stretched canvas into frame.

11.  Using spacers such as foam board, place them all around inside the space between the canvas and the inside of frame, adding more until it fits evenly and snugly

12.  Slip over edge of table, and going underneath, put screws through holes and screw into wooden stretcher frame.

13.  Repeat #14 to #17.  No brown paper needed.

And now, a note about portrait painting . . .

How to Paint a Live Portrait in a Dozen Little Steps:

1.      Prime your canvas
I like to use either a sea foam green, beige-ish or orange-ish, using a big brush and whichever color mixed with turp.  (dries fast and is ready to paint over soon).

2.      Form and Structure
Consider the planes of the face, and the relationships between its features, for example, eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

3.      Light
Decide where you want the light to come from in relation to the model and based on the planes of the face, using the a position of the hands of a clock as a guide, and stick with it throughout your painting.

4.      Point of view
The position of the painter in relation to the model is vitally important, as is the distance.  Find your comfort level and preference, and the best angle according to where the light falls, the most interesting curves and angles of the face, and whether you want the model to look directly at the viewer or to look away.

5.      Photograph
Take several photographs when the lighting and position of the model has been established.  Be sure to take the photo from the exact location of where you intend to set up your easel.

6.      Sketch with raw umber or vine charcoal
Using broad strokes with raw umber and turpentine, paint in the structure of the face, including the shadows, being sure not to get bogged down in detail.

7.      Color
With the introduction of the first basic colors, pay attention mass shapes, color, form and light.  Block in basic forms in darks and lights, without giving any consideration to detail and not getting hung up on likeness. These blocks of color help to sculpt and define the basic form.

8.      Refining and background
Refine your subject with more color and shape, then paint in the background (reshape the outside perimeters of head and torso as needed).

9.      Shadows
Add more dark values to the shadows of the face, using browns, reds and greens, and still keeping brushstrokes broad and gestural.

10.  Blending dark to light
Blur the line between light and shadow to show dimension. Experiment with scumbling a bit of orange or cadmium red within the transition, experimenting also with greens with white added, for cooler tones.

11.  Finer and final details
Refine, recolor where needed, then put in the surface details – brow, skin highlights and glistens, eye glisten and glow, embellishments, clothing details, etc.  Also reshape perimeter of head and torso once more if needed.  An good estimate of how long the process takes, ¼ of the time will be spent on priming and sketching, ¼ on blocking in, and ½ on refinement—which takes the longest in order to make your painting look professional and get a good likeness.

12.  Sign, and when dry (could be weeks but shoud be months), you can coat it with any commercial oil painting coating.  This will give it an even sheen.  However be sure to take a photo of it before coating as the sheen creates more bounceback of light and fools the camera.