Framing And Mat Standards For Watercolors

Matting and framing your work.

Framing and mat standards for watercolors.

Note that in many watercolor competitions they require a white mat so it is better to double mat in white. Mats are made from mat board which should be made from all cotton acid free fiber. Your eye can usually tell if your painting is out of proportion to the frame. Often the artist has some focal point that contrasts with the background colors.

Any wider may look overpowering. If you ve added a four inch mat to a 16 x 20 inch watercolor your new dimensions are 24 x 28 inches. If a large portion of your paper is white mat with a light color and a darker inner mat in a complementary color. Watercolors are a more delicate medium so lighter neutrals tend to work better.

The mat is the quiet that allows the artwork to sing a standard mat width is 2 1 2 to 3 although larger artwork will require something more substantial. If you mat with those background colors the artist s intended focal point will still draw the eye to it. Matting your watercolors protects and enhances the look of your paintings by cleanly defining the image edges and isolating your image in a uniform neutral or complementary background. Be sure to vary the width of the mat and frame as similar widths can appear visually stagnant.

The mat opening will be slightly smaller than the suggested picture size. Generally the mat will cover 1 4 on each side of the image. We recommend a mat at least twice as wide as the width of the frame. Materials and tools needed to frame your watercolor painting frame kit from your local framing store should include frame mat board i use a double mat foam core backing board d rings and self tapping screws nylon hanging string glass front.

I almost always double mat my art. Bottom weighted mats bottom weighting means making the bottom mat width slightly wider than the top left and right sides to compensate for an optical illusion that happens where your bottom mat width looks narrower. So a mat for a 5 x. This allows the mat to overlap the image slightly holding it behind the frame.

Museum quality made with 100 rag should last 25 to 50 years. Generally the top mat will be darker on a. Screwdrivers you will probably need both a flat and a phillips head type. Always mat your art 3 or wider.

Think of the mat as a window drawing the eye in towards your work. When in doubt keep it simple. Cheap joe s art stuff offers a variety of matboards mounting board pre cut mats mounts and mat frames for framing and presenting your artwork. For these dimensions a one to two inch wide frame would look fine.