Qualities Of Good Picture Framing

Three qualities are essential for good picture framing; taste, proportion and craftsmanship in that order. In framing, it is difficult to err on the side of simplicity.

Advantage should be taken of good tradition, but the needs of modern living must be kept in mind. The artist and craftsman should not be swayed by "fads" in framing such as covering a Victorian atrocity with whitewash and calling it "smart".

The three requisites mentioned above can only be developed with time and through experience. However, if sufficient study is given to the picture before it is framed, errors will be reduced and better frames will result. Before either making or finishing the frame it should be remembered that the proportions, that is, the width and depth or "profile" of the molding is of more importance than the finish.

It is much easier to commit the fault of "over-framing" a picture than it is to make the frame too plain or narrow.

The following general rule should always be borne in mind: The more elaborate, colorful or detailed the picture, the simpler should be the frame and vice versa. A monotonous effect can be avoided easily by giving the frame an interesting textural finish or by deco-rating it with a continuous line of geometrical shapes. These should be based on the seven primary forms so well outlined in the book 'A Method for Creative Design' by Adolfo Best-Maugard.

Applied singly or in combination, along the outside, the inside, on the face or a raised portion of the molding, the decoration will be unobtrusive and yet provide interest. The combinations of carving, texture and color are almost endless, therefore no picture need be without its individual, perfect finish.