I just came out with my watercolor art collection Peaceful Wanderings and I wanted to give you some ideas on how to style the artwork. I got some frames for the original paintings and thought I would share with you some ideas for how you can frame your art and how I decided on the frames I did. I'll show you some pictures of the frames that I got and how I hung those on the wall in my studio.
Here are three paintings from the series, laid out and ready to be put in their new frames.
I got these frames from Joann Fabrics. I had shopped there a couple months ago and remembered seeing a collection of frames that I really liked and I had gotten a small frame from that collection. I was very excited to find that they offered the frames that I wanted in the size that I needed. My paintings in this series are 11 x 14 inches and I wanted to have a mat so I needed a 16 x 20 frame with an 11 x 14 mat. I loved these frames because of the warm tones of the wood and the golden accent on the inside of the frame. I have a hard time finding wood frames that have a stain/color that I really love and these met my criteria. They came with hooks on the backer to hang wire from but I ended up getting some D-rings (Amazon) to attach to the outer frame because I think that system is sturdier.
Here are the main things that I think about when looking for a frame for a certain painting or art print:
- Does the frame complement the artwork?
- Is the frame going to take attention away from the artwork? i.e is it too busy or ornamental for the piece I am putting in it.
- Is it going to be placed in a sunny area in which case I might want a higher quality glass to protect against U.V light?
- I pick it out by what looks best first but then I think about quality. Is it sturdy or flimsy and cheaply made? Sometimes you can find great frames at places like Target or Joanns but be sure to look at the back and the glass, make sure nothing is broken or looks flimsy.
Here's a close up of one of the frames. This is the Golden Stream Original Painting in the frame.
Here's a farther away shot.
Here are a couple of smaller frames and framing ideas for the art prints. The pieces above were the original paintings. I always like to do a mat for the originals but with prints you could really go either way.
And the cool thing with smaller prints is you don't necessarily have to hang them on the wall. If they have a kickstand you can display them on shelf on the wall or even on a desk with some nice plants to complement them. I love to have plants in my studio, as you can see.
Here is The Light Shines Through and Golden Stream Giclée Art Prints beside each other. They are both the same size print (8 x 10 inches) but Golden Stream, the one on the right is in an 11 x 14 frame with an 8 x 10 mat while the one on the left is simply in an 8 x 10 frame with no mat. Two options for the same print.
Here is Green Haven in an 8 x 10 frame being displayed on a decorative shelf with other items such as planters and pine cones and other nature-y stuff.
Here is Summer Trails the Art Print in an 8 x 10 frame with no mat.
I hope you got some inspiration from the way I framed this paintings and some good ideas for your next framing project. You can find all the artwork displayed in these frames here in the Peaceful Wanderings Collection.
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