FRAMING TIPS
FRAMING YOUR ORIGINAL ARTWORK OR PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER
When framing any original artwork there are things you must consider to ensure the long life and protection of the artwork.
A frame is not just a pretty means of putting an artwork on the wall but more a protective casing that allows us to view the work. Although colours and styles are very important to the aesthetics of the work there are other important factors of custom framing that you may not know. There are many components that make up a frame and these components can either protect or destroy your artwork.
When framing any original artwork it is very important that all framing is reversible and the artwork can be removed at anytime without any damage.
This mean no artwork should ever be mounted down with adhesives. If an artwork must be mounted be sure your framer uses an archival hand made starch paste glue that is reversible. There are many different techniques for hinging artwork and different styles require different methods. Most artworks on paper can be mounted using and acid free hinging tape. Some though for example works on Japanese rice paper require using hand made starch pastes etc. Talk with your framer about what your work requires If your framer wants to stick your work down to a MDF (custom wood) backing I suggest you find another framer.
This brings us to the backing used. I always recommend using acid free museum grade FOAMCORE You need to take into consideration that the backing will touch the entire artwork so if this is not acid free you will find it will cause an effect called ?foxing? which is the acids in the backing burning the paper of the artwork. You may have seen these small brown spots on artworks and photographs before. If the foxing has only just begun an art restorer can remove the stains but this is very costly. Better to use the right materials in the framing to begin with. Never use MDF or MASONITE for backings. There is limited times when MDF should be used (for example with very high gloss metallic photographic prints to create a smoother finish) but on original artworks on paper always use acid free foamcore.
When framing works on paper you will need to put at least one matboard (coloured card) border around. This is not just a pretty colour but a protective layer tha

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