WHAT'S IN A FRAME?
Just as important as the arrangement of pictures is the way they are framed. McCarthy offers her guidance on mats and frames to help your art look its best.
If the pictures are part of a series, such as botanical prints or architectural engravings, I frame them identically. If each picture is one of a kind, I like the effect created by different frames and mats that are proportional to each.
Frame for the piece, not for the room. The right frame will work in a variety of settings, and you want the flexibility to move a piece from room to room or to different homes.
Though they are more expensive, I like frames that are carved from one piece, rather than those assembled from lengths of molding with mitered corners. I prefer wood frames to metal, and real 22-karat water-gilded frames to oil-gilded frames, with a red, not black, undertone. I also love black wood frames, sometimes with a touch of gold or red (in liners, corners, or undercoating). Burled wood can also look great on the right piece, such as antique maps.
As a rule, for prints and drawings, the mat should be 3 inches wide, but take into consideration the size of the work. You should never trim antique paper.
I generally do not use colored mats, with the exception of French blue mats, which look handsome with black-and-white architectural prints. Frame decorative prints with mats that match the background color of the print or etching and use water-color lines to highlight the colors in the print. I often have a gouache wash applied to the mat to tone it down for an older, subtler look.
Groups of family photos work well in a hallway, back stair hall, or dressing room. I prefer black-and-white photos, matted in white and framed in black or muted gold. In framing color prints, I use gold.
RESOURCES: Josie McCarthy, Josie McCarthy Associates, 214/954-0888, www.josiemccarthy.com; Vineyard Frame Designs, 214/747-1742.
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