Should you frame your own paintings, or should you get a professional to do it for you, regardless of the cost? Here are some thoughts from a discussion on framing from the Painting Forum.
Opinions on and from Professional Framers
“I am a professional framer as well as an artist. There is a reason framing is expensive. It's worth it and it is time consuming. If you placed your effort into painting (presumably what you do best) and let someone more efficient with their time at framing, you might come out ahead. There is more to framing than just wrapping a canvas with wood or metal. Framing is an art and as with any art it takes much learning and practice. Even if a client wants a different frame they will buy the painting in the first place only if well presented. -- Gerard
”I worked in a high-end frame shop that had, as customers, two large city Museums. We framed work by most of the big name Northwest artists. The work on canvas would come into the shop with butted lath frames, put on by the artist. Most of the time, these came in after a gallery show, and the buyer wanted a frame to match their decor. This happened even when the frame was expensive. I learned that for canvas work you might as well frame the work simply and inexpensively.” -- Jon
“I was stunned by [the framer’s] skill in choosing a frame that suits almost all of my work without too much trouble ... and, what she chose was not even close to what I had in mind. She told me ‘artists know nothing about framing.’… The moulding and liners she picked for me were extremely reasonable compared to anything I could have done on my own.” -- Ruthie
Seeing Frames as an Investment
“I usually do not frame all of my paintings. But I have demo frames that I use to show what my paintings look like into a frame. I frame only those I show to sell.” -- GDexartiste
“If you go into the higher end galleries that sell representational paintings you will find that they all have good quality frames. That tells me that if I want to get to that level (which I do, but I'm not there yet) I need to emulate what the pros are doing. I'm doing my best to be a ‘real’ ‘professional’ artist and I've discovered that the frame influences buyers. I wish they could see the painting for what it is but I believe that the frame is ‘very’ important.” -- Painter 03
“I agree that the painting should be presented properly. It really makes the painting look better. I guess if my main goal was to sell my work at this point, I would need to get frames done professionally. However, I don't want to spend $500 on frames when I don't know if my paintings will sell. This is my first public showing. If the reaction is good maybe then I can invest in expensive frames.” -- Brian
More of this feature: Should You Make Your Own Frames?
