Friday, October 29, 2010

FRAMING YOUR WORK


Society of Animal Artists member Jan Martin McGuire thoughtfully shares her views on framing original artwork.

FRAMING YOUR WORK
TO CREATE AN IMPRESSION



While viewing the SAA exhibition at Rolling Hills last September I was struck by two things:  one; the absolute quality of the work and two; the generally awful framing.

Framing is subjective – just like art.  Many people have different ideas of what framing should be.  I can’t speak to all the preferences and the reasoning behind them.  What I CAN do is talk about what is being used on major artwork that is selling in the Western and Wildlife Art market today.



The idea is to create an impression of “worth”, “collectability,” and  “importance”.  Go to any major museum, not just one featuring current western and wildlife art but any museum carrying realistic or impressionists work, and what do you see?  WIDE, closed corner, gold, silver or bronze frames - usually with a little bit of ornate work on them, but always closed-corner and always wide.  This is what collectors have come to equate with “major” art – what they see in museums.  In the Western and Wildlife art field you will also see rustic frames.  By rustic I don’t mean cheap flat “barn wood” frames, but rather wide, hand-made distressed wood with gold and silver on them as well.



OK.  So what is closed-corner exactly?  These are frames that are hand made with hand applied gold or silver leaf (or imitation gold and silver leaf) so that the joins in the corners are covered over.  Sometimes an appliqué of a “leaf” or other scroll work will be applied across the corner to cover the joins as well.

So I know your response is – “I can’t afford hand-made frames”.  Well, believe it or not -you can! There are very reasonably priced ready-mades, most that are hand-made in either Mexico or China. It generally means that you have to work in standard sizes – but – there are so many sizes considered “standard” that I’m always at a loss to understand why artists can’t make compositions work within these sizes.  There are squares, long and thin, and everything in between.  If you absolutely have to add that extra 1/2 inch or whatever then you can get usually get special orders done by most of the places that provide these frames at, of course, a higher price and longer turn around time.



These frames are obviously used mostly on oil and acrylics.  However, many imaginative pastel, pencil and other graphic media artists are using them as well.  They are using spacers and museum glass so at a glance the originals don’t scream out that that they are under glass.  I know museum glass is expensive but I think it’s worth it; you can barely tell there is any glass on it.  Many wildlife art collectors that were actively collecting when the paper print market was hot have learned to equate glass with low-end prints. This is regrettable but true.  If you are a stickler for tradition and want to use paper mats and regular glass, etc., that is your choice obviously. I’m just trying to give you some ideas of what is popular with major collectors.  If you do go traditional, it is still a good idea to make a “STATEMENT” on the wall by using wide mats and big frames. 



If you get a chance, take a look at any issue of WESTERN ART COLLECTOR or ART OF THE WEST magazines.  Especially in WESTERN ART COLLECTOR, they many times feature a major collector’s home - and you can easily see the type of frames that are on the work.  There is an especially good article in the February issue featuring a collection which includes works by Bateman, Kuhn, Carlson, Terpning, Situ and Schimd.  Look at the frames - all are wide, gold or silver with closed corners, and most with at least some slight ornate work on them. 

Another place to look at the type of frames I’m talking about is on John Banovich’s website.  John is arguably one of the most successful selling wildlife artists today and he is a also a very savvy marketer.  Look under the Gallery giclee section and you can see both rustic and gold frames.  www.johnbanovich.com

So where can you get these frames?  Well here are some sources and I suspect that many members will have more input on other sources as well.


JFM ENTERPRISES
1-800-462-9740
These are wholesalers.  Their prices are very reasonable, however you MUST have a sales tax ID number to order and you can’t access prices on the web until you have been approved.

MANNY’S OF DENVER
800-638-7605

AMERICA WEST FRAMES
928-213-1580

WESTERN FRAMES
760-942-4061

IMPRESSIONIST FRAMES
760-942-4061

I hope this helps you find some new framing ideas and options for your work.  You have spent a great deal of time and effort producing the best piece that you can, and you need to make a statement that you think it is worth putting a good frame on it! 

Happy painting! Jan Martin McGuire

The frames in this posting are from JFM Enterprises.
(rc)

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Congratulations to David J. Wagner!!!




Society of Animal Artists Curator/Tour Director, David J. Wagner was honored at the September 2010 Annual Workshop of The Susan K. Black Foundation in Dubois, WY as the Recipient of the Foundation's Black Parkman Award for Art Industry Leadership. Dr. Wagner also serves as Curator/Tour Director for the Foundation's triennial exhibition, BLOSSOM ~ ART OF FLOWERS.

(rc)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

50th Art and the Animal Awards


We would like to take a moment and congratulate all of the artists who have had the honor of being awarded some of the highest honors in the Society of Animal Artists.



The list that follows are those artists in the 
Society of Animal Artists
50th Annual Members Exhibition 2010

Art and the Animal


Award of Excellence
The Society of Animal Artists has presented its highest honor, the Award of Excellence for those works of art in each SAA Exhibition which are judged to represent the highest standards of artistic excellence.



Robert Bateman
BOWHEAD AND SNOW BUNTINGS -oil
Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada


Charles Allmond
DAYDREAMER - Utah Alabaster
Wilmington, Delaware



Cheryl Gervais Battistelli
WINTER LIGHT -pastel
Whitefish, Ontario Canada


Carel P. Brest van Kempen
RIPARIAN RASHOMON - Acrylic Diptych
Holladay, Utah


Pat Jackman
WINDY DAY BEACH - Colored Pencil
Salem, Oregon


Lars Jonnson
LIVING WITH THE WIND - Oil
Island of Gotland, Sweden


Peter Clinton Gray
GREAT EXPECTATIONS - oil
Cape Town, South Africa
Don Rambadt
SOLSTICE - welded bronze
Trevor, Wisconsin


Sherry Salari Sander
HORSES OF THE MOUNTAIN - bronze
Kalispell, Montana


Sandy Scott
EQUUS FOUND FRAGMENTS I and II - bronze
Lander, WY


Mark Susinno
OVER THE TOP - Oil on Linen
Harrisburg, PA.


Kay Witherspoon
DETERMINATION - Oil on Linen
Englewood, Colorado


Rick Pas
RING NECK II - Acrylic
Lapeer, Mi



HIRAM BLAUVELT MUSEUM ART MUSEUM PURCHASE AWARD
Peter Clinton Gray
GREAT EXPECTATIONS - oil
Cape Town, South Africa


Stephen Quinn
RECLINING BLACK RHINO - bronze
Ridgefield Park, NJ


PATRICIA A. BOTT AWARD FOR CREATIVE EXCELLENCE

Gary Stabb
ATTA - Bronze, Glass, wood
Kearney, Mo


THE EVELYN AND PETER HALLER MEMORIAL AWARD FOR SCULPTURE

Dan Chen
BETWEEN THE RAFTERS - bronze
b. China resides Eugene Oregon


PRESIDENTS AWARD

Jan Martin McGuire
DUST DEVIL - Acrylic on Panel
Bartlesville, Oklahoma

THE LEONARD J. MEISELMAN MEMORIAL AWARD FOR REALISTIC SCULPTURE IN AN ACADEMIC MANNER

Patricia Davis
SUMMER STOCK - bronze
Mancos, Colorado

THE NEWCOMER AWARD FOR A FIRST TIME PARTICIPANT IN THE SAA'S ANNUAL EXHIBITION

Chris McClelland
DUGGA BOY - Graphite and Colored Pencil
Hay, New South Wales


THE ETHOLOGY AWARD FOR THE BEST DEPICITION OF NATURAL BEHAVIOR IN ANY MEDIUM

Linda Besse
BATTLE ROYALE - oil
Mead, WA

SOUTHWEST ARTIST MAGAZINE EDITORS CHOICE

Julie Bell
ALPHA WOLF - Oil on Wood
Allentown, PA.

WESTERN ART COLLECTOR EDITORS CHOICE AWARD

James Coe
WINTER ABSTRACT WITH HERON - Oil on Linen
Hannacroix, NY


(rc)