Framing problems

One of my very first pastel paintings, a copy of Frans Mortelmans Rose painting

How do you frame your pastel paintings?

I was taught to frame pastel paintings with double mats / passepartout, normal glass and a light, thin frame. I am not always satisfied with that. For some work it is ok, but sometimes it feels, and looks, very old-fashioned.

Last year I also tried framing my big pastels against the glass, taped tightly to the glass so the painting won’t move. It looks good, I could not see any problems with it, but some say there might be a problem with humidity, maybe even mold, later on. Right now it looks very nice, clean and bright colors, no smudging.

The alternative is using spacers, as I can read about in different forums, with a bigger frame, no mats. It would be nice to try.. but the problem is how to find someone in Vaasa who knows how to do it for me! It seems to be mostly watercolor and oil paintings getting framed here…

The glass is also a problem, museum glass costs a fortune, 200-300 or more € for a bigger painting, I was told!!! Some time ago I read that people use a new acrylic (?) glass that is lighter than the normal glass and has less reflections without losing the brightness of the normal glass. And here we go again, where do I find the framer that knows what these materials are, where to find them, how to use them? How do you frame your paintings?

 

August 9, 2015August 10, 2015 by Annika Östman Categories: artTags: framing, glass, pastel Leave a comment

Arranging Workshops

Workshop with Karen Margulis!

I have arranged two workshops so far. The first time was scary, not sure how to do things, what to think about, how much activities and sightseeing people would want, and so on. The second time was different, it was easier to make the arrangements with a little experience! Here a pic from this year’s workshop in Alskat, Vaasa.

Karen Margulis. workshop in 2015

So… why arrange a workshop? I think the answer is the same as for the question ”why attend a workshop”; you will be INSPIRED, get NEW FRIENDS and you always LEARN something new. You will be REMINDED of the things you knew but had forgotten, you have time to FOCUS on painting in a way you can’t at home where life seems to take over all the time. For me these are the reasons why, plus the fact that it is hard to find workshops with very good artists in my part of the world – if I want something to happen here, I have to create it!

 

It has been a couple of weeks now, since our ”Workshop in Alskat 2015”. We were 10 artists from USA, UK, Germany, Sweden, Croatia, Finland … painting in our summer house in Alskat outside Vaasa. We had the best teacher! We were all excited and inspired by the absolutely wonderful classes / lectures and demos held by our fantastic tutor, pastel artist Karen Margulis. If you ever have a chance to join one of her workshops, don’t miss it!!! It is worth the trouble, be sure of that!

During Karen’s demo in Björköby

This workshop was a very nice experience also for me, as I managed to participate more this time, and I even had time to paint a little.

My “Summer view” from the workshop

I think we will all remember and cherish this time we had together these few days. It was so special. I am so happy to have met all these fabulous artists from all over the world. How can we repeat this fantastic experience? I want to do it again!
…  making plans… 🙂

Annika

 

…to finish!

Karen’s demo from start..

 

August 2, 2015August 3, 2015 by Annika Östman Categories: artTags: art, painting, pastel, workshop Leave a comment