I’ve been working in framing for roughly five years, with a one year gap to give birth, take care of a newborn and become a functioning human again. I work in a very small, family owned shop where you pretty much have to be able to do every aspect of the job because, like, three people work there. My anxiety likes knowing the ins and outs of the place luckily and my persistent curiosity pushes me to investigate any process or technique I don’t yet know. From working with the customer to choose custom mats, a frame and glass to then cutting the mats and glass (the owner cuts and joins all of the frames) and assembling the finished piece, I’ve learned every step of the process. We also photograph and print giclee prints of artwork but perhaps that is a separate post altogether!
In this post, I mainly want to give advice about specific ways to frame graphite and chalk pastel drawings. Once sprayed, graphite drawings are quite simple to frame. If purchasing a custom frame is too expensive, which I entirely get…I’m an artist so I’m not exactly rolling in cash (good thing I get a staff discount!), I do however suggest getting at least a custom mat. Ideally the glass in a frame should not touch the artwork because any bit of moisture could cause them to stick together over time and a mat prevents this from happening. I would suggest always matting original artwork especially, but pre-made frames include a stark white mat that is often not acid free and therefore not archival. A few things about that are not great. First off, the mat could damage your artwork because the acid will seep into your paper. Second, the core of the mat will turn a brownish shade over time which can really stand out when surrounded by white and grey tones. Lastly, and I feel this is the more important part, the mat is just too bright. Often drawing paper is off white so when the mat is a brighter white, it takes too much attention. The mat should quietly compliment the piece and take a back seat to it. Depending on the shades in the drawing which are often warm greys, I much prefer either a light pebble shade or if it can handle it, deeper greys that get into the charcoal end of the gradient. Using a midtone creates a more cohesive appearance overall and allows the lights and darks to stand out drawing your eye to those areas of contrast. From there, you can choose whichever frame looks best. This might be a very specific custom frame that elevates the whole piece, or a simple pre-made or repurposed frame that does the job. If you have to cut costs, I really recommend doing so when it comes to the frame vs when it comes to the mat. Regular glass comes with most pre-made frame packages (please please please avoid plastic/acrylic sheets. They are a pain in the butt and never look good) or you can get super fancy and request museum glass. It has a high UV protection and just looks so so good. Like, you can’t even see it, kind of good.
A lot of those tips apply to framing chalk pastel artwork as well. When you’re dealing with more colour, it can be trickier to pick a mat colour but I would suggest keeping it fairly neutral. Go with a midtone so it’s not too light or dark and a warm shade looks best since there are likely a lot of warm shades in the picture. You can also use an under mat that you typically only see ⅛’ to ⅜’ of, but it can be just enough to add a pop of colour and bring out a complimentary shade in the portrait. A blue for example is always nice if it seems like there is too much of the same colour. Or a deep grey/brown to bring out the darker areas. The biggest difference in framing chalk pastel artwork is that it is best to raise the matting. This involves you or, ideally, a framer using foamboard under the mat so that it is raised off of the artwork itself. This way, when it is framed and small particles of chalk inevitably fall off (this is unavoidable even when using fixative) they will fall between the artwork and the matting vs on top of the matting for all to see. It keeps the framed piece cleaner looking over time.
These are suggestions I offer from my own experience as an artist and as a framer and how I personally frame my customer’s artwork when they request it. Where I work offers lots of different services from just cutting mats to custom making all elements. It’s possible that your local framer doesn’t work this way though. Not all shops can be as cool and accommodating as ours. I think we really do go above and beyond…but sometimes to our detriment because we are a small staff trying to do a lot. But why not check in with your local framer to see what services they offer and how they can help you out!
