Framing Tips for Artists

Every art, from your child's art on the refrigerator to oversized commissioned art should be signed. Check out this blog for information about where to sign your art. [Art by Susan Hosey, 1980]

Do not sign the matboard. Customers may want different colored mats and frames to fit their decor and your signature would be lost. See the instructions in the "Where to Sign Your Art" article for more information.

Pastel Art should be handled carefully from creation to storage to framing. Before it is framed, keep it covered with a sheet of tissue paper in a folder or portfolio that prevents it from shifting around inside. When you frame it, select static-free Tru Vue Optium museum acrylic, and preservation-quality mats. Raise the mat closest to the art with a hidden piece of acid-free cotton rag matboard to catch any pastel particles that fall during transport or hanging. 

 Anti-static sputter-coated acrylic protects and displays fragile artwork. The static charge of many conventional glazing products may be enough to damage friable media, such as charcoals, pastels, artwork with delicate surfaces, lightweight papers and textiles. Friable media contain minimal binding agents and, without adequate protection, may separate from their support or crumble into a powdery form. Smaller and lighter particles, such as fine powder pigments of pastels, are more likely to be detrimentally affected by static charge. 

[Art by Susie Caffey, 2021]