What a difference a frame makes...

I went to collect a framed piece of work for a customer recently, only to discover it wasn't what I had asked for. It looked ok, but was not something I would choose.... it might fit a certain style of decor, but it was just too heavy for the piece.  Besides which, I wanted to cover the mount & the proportions were just wrong for me.

I know the paper looks a different shade, but this is the same piece in the frame I wanted.... much more suitable for a modern home with a natural look. Picture framers tend to leave a similar amount of space all around, but when the text forms a long, narrow block, I want to preserve that shape. To do so, there needs to be more space left at the sides, with the top & bottom much closer to the mount than expected.... in this way the mounted piece is still long & narrow. The top pic is veering much more towards square.

The colour of the mount (or matt in the US) makes such a difference too & can limit the frame choice. I often use walnut ink and for many people the natural choice is to go for a sepia or dark brown mount... but that doesn't necessarily suit many frames. I much prefer to cover it with the same paper that I have written on.

People often don't know what I mean when I say that a covered mount would be an idea & find it hard to visualise. As well as complimenting the calligraphy, it suits a wider range of frames.