Sometimes I am asked to exhibit framed works at fairs or art shows. This is what the town hall of Ixelles asked me for an exhibition in La Chapelle de Boondael. So I have to frame three of my paintings with 3 big questions that arise:
• What type of frame to choose?
• How to frame a work?
• How to control your budget?
Being a new artist, the budget for framing my paintings is limited. However, I want quality framing that highlights my works while remaining discreet.
I start my research with online framing shops that sell frames at extremely competitive prices. I think I have found the ideal solution, but before starting I decide to seek advice from an art supply store that also does some framing. There, the adviser teaches me that when the keys behind a canvas are placed, they can modify the degree of the angles of this one. The canvas is no longer a perfect rectangle or square and the frame must be adapted to these slight deviations.
I no longer want to order a ready-made frame on the internet. Supervision cannot be improvised!
It’s decided, I will entrust this task to a professional.
The frames offered in this store did not convince me, but the salesman I met there recommended a frame shop, Cadre 2000 in Brussels. The reviews on the internet are excellent, and icing on the cake, it’s less than five minutes from my workshop.
I go there and am welcomed by a young woman who immediately understands my needs and my budgetary constraints.
She offers me several types of “low price” frames and, faced with my hesitation, suggests that I come back with my paintings in order to do real fittings.
Rich idea! My initial choice is no longer the same after having tested several frames on my paintings.
So I’m going to go with frames of the “American box” type.
Then you have to choose the colors. We are looking together for the color that will go best with my paintings and decide that a dark shade with a copper border would be ideal.
The price of this type of frame with these colors being very high, the shopkeeper suggests that I order them in raw wood (much less expensive) and give them to me disassembled so that I can paint them myself. She will then only have to do the final editing.
I comply, the next morning everything is dry and ready to be brought back. The frames are mounted in the shop on my canvases during the day.
I am very happy with the result and extremely grateful to the family staff of Cadre 2000, who allowed me to access very good quality coaching and for a lower budget than that offered by online discount stores.
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