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New styles make framing an art of its own Thinking of getting framed? Picture framing, like any other design industry, has its own lines, textures and style.

New styles make framing an art of its own

Thinking of getting framed?

Picture framing, like any other design industry, has its own lines, textures and style.

And these days, there’s no reason you can’t have a little New York flair in your own backyard.

At Captured Ideas Pictured Framing, Squamish, the Manhattan range is a popular choice for urban flair.

Frames come in four shades (black, oak, silver, and cherry red), whose scratch-grain block design transforms art from stylish to urban chic.

Meanwhile the "Goya" range of frames adds hints of the city, by using a red undercoat, with a black wash.

"Protect, preserve, and present," says certified picture framer Terry Vincent of Freestyle Framing and Art Gallery, on the three tips for framing your art.

Vincent, who ran a gallery and apprenticed in Ottawa before moving to Whistler, says framing is like the finishing touch.

Goal one, is to get your art on the wall.

Goal two, is to make it look good.

"It’s like decorating, or dressing – you know how many types of clothing there are out there, and it’s great to co-ordinate, but the wrong shoes can wreck everything."

Picture framing is a certified trade, resulting in the CPF accreditation.

Students take a two-year apprenticeship course, studying paper textures, different paints, and the physics of framing.

"Be aware of what you’re buying, and don’t be afraid to ask exactly what is being done," reminds Vincent. "This is your art, and you have every right to know."

Glazing choices for frames are usually glass or plexiglass, which protects the art from light damage, but be forewarned: plexiglass is known for picking up dust.

Black and gold give pictures a "gallery" feel.

"The biggest change recently has been the introduction of antique-like finishes," says Vincent.

The chemicals and paint react together, giving the effect of something that has aged.

New in stock at Freestyle are "textures and fabrics, and leather and cashmere mats, which keeps things exciting."

And anything is fair game in the art of preservation.

Vincent preserved a stuffed parrot as a family heirloom for one client.

No matting here. Instead, she created a "beach with a pirate theme" inside a hexigon-shaped plexiglass cage.

On a smaller budget, shoppers can look at non-frame methods like laminating or fibre board backing, which has a laminated surface.

To protect posters, laminating is one option different from dry mounting, where the poster is bonded to a thick backing, in that the laminate retains a thick plastic coating.

For a budget option minus a traditional frame, black foam board gives a little shadow all around the image without overpowering.

Harvey Lim, framer at art junction @ function gallery in Function Junction, says clients can approach framing from several different angles.

When thinking about frames, designers like Lim say consider the artwork first, where it will hang, as well as the look of your own home décor.

But steer clear of colour co-ordinating the sofa with Degas.

"Design frames for the artwork, not for a room in a house," says Lim.

While they do offer things like Louis XIV period frames and gold leaf finishes, the majority of their work is in contemporary framing, featuring B.C. artists.

For example, a piece by Gloria Masse was placed onto a matte board, and sunk slightly to highlight an image of a bear.

Floating is another technique used to highlight the paper inside the frame.

"Works used to be done on handmade paper with that slightly torn look which is worked into papers today," says Lim.

"Using a float can highlight an interesting edge."

A floater frame can also be placed about a 1/2 inch from the canvas all the way around, which leaves a distinct space between the frame and the art, giving it a sense of hanging mid-air.

Lim, who says he works in a creative business, was a soccer goalie with Sing Tao in Hong Kong. He framed his jersey, gloves and other soccer memorabilia.

The tribute to sporting life hangs on the wall above his main desk, at art junction, alongside rows of frame samples which line the walls at the end of the room.

Framing vintage posters is a new trend. When a client brought in six posters from the 1930s, Lim decided to place them in an antique white background to set off the images of Chamonix and other ski resorts.

Complemented with an antique white matte in a rustic wooden frame, the posters have a simple, sophisticated border.

While your Pink Floyd and Tom Cruise pin-ups might be gathering dust, posters of landscapes, alpine meadows, and ski championships line the walls of local restaurants, bar bathrooms, and cabins.

"A lot of posters also look good if they are dry mounted and glazed," says Lim.

Over at Black Tusk Gallery, which specializes in Northwest Coast Native art, manager Britt Germann says durability is key.

To frame their work for a client, they use conservation plexiglass, which costs more than regular plexiglass but does not emit any glare.

"Conservation plexiglass is also a lot more durable," says Germann, who says glass can take away more of the textures in a canvas.

One trend she sees emerging is highlighting a smaller work, 2.5" x 2.5" for example, with extremely large mattes, perhaps up to 9".

Multiple mates, embossed mats, and emblazoned frames are other options they offer. Black Tusk Gallery uses acid-free supplies.

Danette Reid, of Whistler Art Galleries, says each frame they do for their one of a kind art is different.

"A lot of the time we end up talking more about the frame, than the work.

It might be a $300 frame on a $5,000 piece," says Reid.

"I’d say a lot of frames we do are either black, or gold," she adds.

"But sometimes in the end people want to match their frame with their couch."

With the styles available to consumers these days, and techniques that can flatter poster art or modern impressionist works, it’s no wonder that frames have taken on their own art status.