Buying Unframed

My acrylic mixed media abstracts are either painted on canvas or board: the canvases have painted gallery wrapped edges and can be hung with or without a frame; the paintings on board will need to be framed.

My pastel paintings can be purchased unframed to suit your requirements.

A pastel painting can be stored in a thin, flat lightweight fome-cor® protective box, which I am able to provide; prices vary from $20.00 to $40.00 depending on the size of the box. The boxes are approximately three quarters of an inch thick and in most cases suitable for carrying as hand luggage on an aircraft. They will usually fit into the overhead locker space.

When making arrangements for your painting to be framed, I highly recommend that you use reputable framers who have experience in framing original pastel artwork. I choose not to spray my work with fixative as I find it dulls the vibrancy of the colors; it is therefore very important that the painting is protected behind glass and that the framers are familiar with pastel framing techniques to avoid any damage. The school of thought on the 'fixing' issue is divided and personally I do not like the effect of the fixing agent on the pastel.

Strips of fome-cor® (or other museum quality buffer material) are used to raise the mat approximately one eighth of an inch from the surface of the painting so that the mat does not come directly into contact with the pastel surface. Again, a reputable framer will be familiar with this procedure.

I always use and recommend using museum quality acid-free mats and acid-free fome-cor® backing and buffers. The width of the mat varies according to the size of the painting and a reputable framer will be able to advise on suitable proportions for the mat and the frame.

I also highly recommend UV clear glass to protect the painting from damage by sunlight. I use TruVue AR (Anti-Reflective) Reflection Free® or TruVue Reflection Control® glass on all of my artwork.

For any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to assist.