Matting

You may wish to mat your paintings for a professional look, and for the safe keeping of your work.

Watercolor mats protect and enhance the look of your paintings. Mats are made from mat board which should be made from all cotton acid free fiber. I prefer neutral off white mats either warm or cool depending of the overall hue and value of the painting. Archival museum mat boards are the best.

Mats consist of two pieces of mat board . A front and a back. Both pieces should be larger than your painting. The top piece consists of a window surrounded on four sides by borders with bevelled inner window edges. The window should be just large enough to cover the unpainted borders of the paper, but not so much as to obstruct the work. The mat often covers a fraction of the paintings edges to give a clean look. Usually no more than 1/16 of an inch on each side. The bottom piece is the same size as the top piece and does not have a window. Needless to say the painting is centered in the window sandwiched between the two pieces of matting material. Both mats are hinged at the top using a strip of linen tape adhered from the inside allowing the top mat to swing upward and away from the painting. The painting should be hinged at it's top edge as well using rice paper instead of linen tape. If for some reason the painting is torn from the matboard, the rice paper will tear leaving the painting unharmed.

Mat size effects how viewers see art. Ideally, a mat should enhance the art but also appear "neutral" so not to distract the viewer. Mats borders that are unusually narrow may appear "skimpy". Unusually wide mat borders may overpower the art. Widths and proportions of mat borders may vary according to taste. Currently, some suggest that mat borders should be equal in width on all four sides. I disagree with this. I personally believe mat bottom borders should be slightly wider to visually create more "weight" at the bottom of the mat, but not so wide to be overtly noticeable. A traditional proportion of a bottom border to the sides and top borders is 1.16666..., or as an example, 3 inches per sides and top to 3-1/2 inches per bottom. Personally, I think this gives the bottom border too much weight. I prefer a proportion of 1.125% of the bottom to the sides and top.

The painting once matted is ready for framing. Metal and wood frames can be purchased to size or metal frame strip moulding can be purchased and assembled. Frame shops are located just about everywhere now days and often do acceptable work. Framing glass and plexiglass can be used to glaze the painting. Glass is less expensive but plexi is less fragile. Plexi should be used if the painting is to be shipped. Many exhibits and shows will not accept works unless they are glazed with plexiglass. I also place 3/16 in. or 1/4 in. foamboard as backing behind the mat for added protection and seal the back with tape to keep out dust and moisture.

Don't forget the wire and screw eyes . Metal frames will require special fittings that slide along and lock in the back of the moulding. Screw eyes are okay for small wood frames, but large works should use "D" rings. These are good for all sizes of wood frames because the "D" rings lie flat in a thin metal bracket allowing the frame to hang closer to the wall. These may attach to the wood using one or more small screws. Pre-drill pilot holes for all screws and screw eyes or the wood will split possibly causing them to pull out.

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