Deciding on a framing style for a painting makes a big impact not only on the piece of artwork that it frames, but is also a deciding factor on how that piece aesthetically fits in the selected space and „the feeling'' that it creates in the room.
And with art - it's all about the aesthetics and that feeling that it awakes.
Framing not only affects the presentation of the artwork, but it plays a big part in determining the final size of the piece as well. Thus the collector can adapt a certain piece that he likes to fit the desired space in the best possible way.
Let's say we are talking about a 70x70cm ( 27.5x27.5'') painting on an unstretched canvas.
You are beginning with two basic options: stretching the canvas (on a wooden frame) or not stretching it at all.
If you decide to go with the first option - to stretch the canvas on a wooden frame, you will be left with a give or take 60x60 cm unframed painting.
The beauty of this option is that you will have a painting with the sides painted as part of the artwork as well.
You can take this option further and put that painting in a frame. The color and material choice of the frame will impact the overall presentation of the painting, but they also give the advantage of adapting it and fitting it in the selected space even better. The floating frame makes the piece a little bigger depending on the frame.
The second course you can take is not to stretch the painting at all.
Very much like a traditional paper painting you can decide on a vast variety of framing options.
You can go for the option of keeping it in one piece or cutting it up in 2, 4 or as many pieces as you like.
Whether you decide to keep it in one piece or cut it into smaller pieces an interesting option would be to put it in a double glass frame. It gives much interest and depth to a piece, leaving the raw edges exposed.
You can also put it in a classic frame, hide the rough edges with a passepartout or expose them over the background paper for a more authentic feel.
The size of the passepartout or background will make your piece that much bigger. Let's say you decide to cut it up in four equal pieces and put it in a frame with a passepartout of 10 cm. You end up with 4 pieces of 45x45cm + 1-2- cm for the frame itself. This way you can adapt the painting to the space the best. And the color choices and combinations are endless.
The easier option definitely is to buy the artwork framed, ready to hang, without debating on the best frame, but it limits the artwork and the collector. When considering the best framing option, you can always seek the opinion of the artist, interior designers, or others, and in the end customize your artwork to best suit your aesthetic and needs.
