Choose the Best Shade for Your Frames - Using Color Wheel Tool

There are various techniques that are present today which professionals employ to shorten the process of choosing the right color for frames, especially matting. A color wheel is great tool to make correct decision about the right color to choose. With this color wheel artist and framer can choose the correct color for their Mat or color for other components of the frame.

A color wheel also known as color circle is a pictorial representation of colors arranged according to their chromatic relationship.

Primary Colors: They are the basic color and are used to create other by mixing them together.

Secondary Colors: They are attained by mixing two primary colors.

Tertiary Colors: They are achieved by mixing primary and secondary hues.

Complementary Colors: As shown below they are located opposite to each other on a color wheel.

Analogous Colors: Colors that are located close together on a color wheel are analogous colors.

Active & Passive colors
A color wheel can be further divided into ranges that represent active or passive color. When passive color are placed against active colors they seem to advance and passive colors seem to recede.

• Hues that are advancing have less visual weight than the ones that are receding.
• Warm, saturated, light value hues are "active"
• Cool, low saturated, dark value hues are "passive"
• Tints or hues with a low saturation appear lighter than shades or highly saturated colors.
• Some colors remain visually neutral or indifferent.

Color Relationships

They are represented on a color triangle on a color wheel

Painter’s Triangle: In this red, blue and yellow are primary hues. This triangle is most often used in art classes.

Printers Triangle: This color is used in printing process and magenta, cyan, and yellow are primary hues.

Nine-part harmonic triangle of Goethe: They are basically printer's primaries; the secondaries formed are the painter's primaries; and the resulting tertiaries formed are dark neutrals.

Complementary Colors

A color wheel is a great tool the see the relationship among colors. The colors that are opposite to each other are complementary colors.

Complementary colors when used are able to bring out the best in each other. When saturated complements are used they create vibrant and interesting effects.

For framing use color wheels to choose the right color balance between the art and framing that surrounds it. The best idea is to identify secondary color in the art and use it as the value and temperature of the art as a whole.

Plexiglass frames - A preferred choice

A picture frame is a great way to preserve your art for long. Often, when we go for custom made frames, there are many components that are needed to be chosen judicially. One of the main components that often gets neglected but is equally important; to create a visually appealing picture frame is, glazing. Glazing can be made of Standard Glass or Plexiglass. Standard Glass is the most common glazing used and is inexpensive and readily available. Standard glass is the best option for reproduction prints, posters and artwork.

Plexiglass is lighter than glass, and less dangerous to handle. Plexiglass, in its most advanced form, provides most of the benefit of museum glass and has the ability to filter 50-75% of UV rays along with being anti-static and scratch resistant. Plexiglass is a great alternative and preferred choice of framers around the world. Plexiglass is virtually impossible to break and can stand the test of time thus are normally used with art that needs to be preserved, is expensive and requires high viewing quality . On the other hand, Glass is heavy, can break easily and thus difficult to transport. Plexiglass also comes in several forms, with various standards such as coating, tint or matte finish.

For smaller frames, standard glass can sometimes be used, but for large frames, Plexiglass is the nest option as it is able to sustain its own weight. Museums also prefer Plexiglass over standard glass as chances of Plexiglass breaking is less. A standard glass glazing can break with little shock and damage the rare piece of history it is supposed to preserve. As Plexiglass can sustain vibration and mild shock it is preferred choice of framers who wants to give more durability to the frame. Glass on the other hand is good for smaller picture frame with a budget constraint and should be handled with care. So when it comes to durability, cleanliness and light weight, Plexiglass is the material of choice.

However following consideration is taken by framers when they choose Plexiglass

• Framers might not prefer Plexiglass when Painting is made with pastels or charcoals. As Plexiglass holds static electric charge which causes dust particles to stick to the surface and compromise clarity of image.

• If the budget is a constraint, then Plexiglass can be a costly option to fit in. Standard glass can be used especially for frames less than 32x40 inch in dimension.

• If the art to be framed is for reproduction prints, posters and artwork then standard glass can be the best option for framing over Plexiglass.

Amazing tips that can help you when framing a painting

Picture framing is like a science, custom picture framing takes some really good skills and a lots and lots of patience. Picture framing is also very vital to the art collector and to the artist in maintaining the value of art. According to a research, it is said that mostly everyone has had something framed once: a piece of art, a degree, a football jersey, you name it and you can get that framed.

Custom photo framing can be the best comrade or the worst foe of the art.  Imagine your best artwork not framed properly, and the damage it can do. Here are some tips for professional framers so they can avoid some very serious mistakes.

• Use Good quality materials:

This is one of the most important aspect of framing. If you are using low quality materials then beware, they will affect the art in more than one ways in addition they will also reduce the value of your art. When using mat boards or papers in framing then care should be taken that acid free materials are used.

• Select the glass:

Use UV protected glass always and suggest your customers to go for UV glasses. Ultra violet rays harm your art work, even if you have used UV glass then also try to avoid exposing the painting to direct sunlight. There are also options available in glass like the museum quality glass which is heavy.

There are also alternatives for the glass like the Plexiglass(Acrylic) which has got some good benefits over regular glass and picture framers are suggesting the use of plexiglass as it is safe and light weight.

• Selecting the proper mats:

Selection of proper matting should be done, you should match the mat with the frame or according to the picture type and texture. Make it look good not weird. Matt are supposed to keep the distance between the art and the glass. There needs to be some space between the art and the glass so that the art does not stick on the glass.

• Don't use tapes:

Using a tape is a big no. Don’t use the regular brown tape that you use around the house to fix things on the painting or the photograph they might damage the painting after a long run. When you will try to remove the tape from the painting then you can see the large amount of damage that has been done by the tape on the artwork.

Museum quality custom framing shops should avoid using tapes and if you want to then go for the framing specialty tapes. Don't damage some precious museum quality art.

These tips can be kept in mind to avoid turning your artwork into a disaster. The custom framers keep these things in mind and always try to make your artwork more beautiful, But as we can say that precaution is better than cure.