Framing for Mood

I met a client at the framer's yesterday, and I was struck, as I always am, by how much impact the right frame can have on the beauty of a work of art.This particular framer is an old friend of my brother's, he has an unmatched eye for color, and over the years he has taught me a ton about the possibilities with not just the frame, but the matboard as well.

We were framing this pretty little oil painting, and my first instinct was to gold on the frame to draw out the bright colors of this sunset.

The gold frame with the ecru linen is bright and pretty.

But, when he brought out all the linen spacers I immediately pulled this sort of murky, khaki color.  It pulls from the colors of the trees and, with a sort of warm pewter frame, recedes and allows the painting colors to jump forward.

It's a little moody, don't you think?

 Ultimately, either of these framing options work for the painting, but the two options create a different vibe.

People sometimes get overwhelmed by framing--so much choice, such a committment--but I think this just goes to show that there is often more than one "right" answer.  You want to honor the art AND make it work for you and your space.

Ultimately, we chose a gold frame and ecru liner, but I didn't grab a snapshot of the final combination.  You'll see it when it's hung with a host of other landscapes in my client's dining room!