Design Counter vs. Final Results
What do we do when a very important customer says “I trust you to do what you do”? Well, first off, we get very excited and start dreaming up possibilities. Usually, the creative juices bring immediate possibilities involving color, form, presentation and, of course, preservation. What you are about to see in the following finished photographs is the result of hours of thinking and planning. Despite the seemingly chaotic nature of the frame styles you can be assured that the works of art are carefully framed with archival products and techniques and built to stand the test of time.
Below, we will try to take you through some of the thought process behind the initial, brief, consult with the prints to their creative execution. Warning. This type of framing is not for everyone. Turn back now if easily offended. Ha! Joking. Please read on.
Above we see the first of three Ralph Steadman prints that we were given creative license to frame “as we see fit”. Ralph Steadman is possibly best known for his collaborations with author Hunter S. Thompson. These three illustrations are from Thompson’s famous book titled “Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas”.
This particular print is very expressive showing smudged pencil or charcoal lines, faint and muted peach, dirty yellows and muted pale greens. We decided to leave the pale reds in the ear and lips totally alone. In other words, we decided not to “pull out” the reds in the color designs of the framing.
Let’s start with the matting. This is a heavy textured fabric wrapped 8-ply mat which was then altered with paint to match the vibe and muted colors of the art. On the back side of the mat, the side touching the art, we placed a 2-ply museum rag mat as a buffer between the fabric and the art. Only the archival matting touches directly against the art print.
The frame was handmade and designed to look “thin” and not be “too heavy”. We didn’t want too much of the black color to contrast with the image. If the frame were entirely black it would be distracting and, of course, have very little originality. The randomness of the peach, pale green and scraping patterns was intended to reflect the spirit of the drawing. It’s a fine line between reflecting what’s in the art and making the frame too “matchy match”, as they say. The frame and the painting were done by owner Matt Slobogan.
Ralph Steadman number two was a two-part frame design. The customer did have some input here. They wanted the sun rays blasting the convertible and it’s main characters as they drove through bright neon colors of the Las Vegas desert. The design radiates outward from a stationary orange, inner frame. The art, in this case, is against Ultraviolet blocking acrylic. Not quite as psychedelic as the first design but just as successful. Handmade frame made, carved, and painted by owner Matt Slobogan.
“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.” A simplified version, no doubt. You can see the inspiration from the movie version here.
And…for the final Steadman we decided to make a wider frame in which to carve relief patterns reflecting the shirt patterns of the main character. The patterns were not to be too “Matchy Match” but resemble the shapes and that seventies style vacation button down. The lower carved portions are dusted with roten stone and give a slight contrast to that darl black fabric mat.
The matting is a heavy textured, black fabric wrapped, 8-ply mat. On the back side of the mat, the side touching the art, we placed a 2-ply museum rag mat as a buffer between the fabric and the art. Only the archival matting touches directly to the art print. Handmade frame made, carved, and painted by owner Matt Slobogan.