How to: frame a watercolour in 3 different ways

Written by chris pink on January 16, 2015 in Picture Framing

If you’ve ever wandered around a gallery and taken in the watercolours on show, you’ll no doubt have been struck by the surprising range of styles on offer. Although watercolours have a traditional reputation here in the UK, the huge number of colours on offer means that a watercolour can be bold and colourful, or subtle and unassuming.

This week’s blog is all about taking advantage of framing, to ensure that your watercolour gets the presentation it deserves.

Go the historic route

Natural wood such as pine or oak has long been a favourite for framing watercolours. Match a simple frame with a plain coloured mount and you’ll be able to let your painting do all the talking. Want to lend the frame a bit more personality? A layer of wax will bring out the grain.

This option is ideal for seascapes, church paintings and landscapes.

Less traditional…more regal and bold!

While watercolour painting isn’t known for its daring brush strokes in quite the same way as oil painting, that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with colours. A wide, flat, gold frame with a distressed finish will add an impressive spark to a pen and ink drawing or painting. Match this with a colourful mount – blue works well – and you’ll have a painting that pops off the wall, easily becoming the centre-piece of any room.

This option will suit quirky, dramatic or inventive paintings. Or any painting that needs to make a statement.

You can’t argue with black and white

Oil paint may have the edge when it comes to texture, but no other medium touches watercolour when it comes to the opportunity to experiment with different kinds of paper. The wonderful range of thick, textured paper on offer means that black paint can form a wonderful contrast.

That’s where a sharp black frame comes in. Match a simple wooden frame with a smooth, clean mount and you’ll have the makings of excellence in no time at all!

Black frames often suit simple, one or two-colour paintings where black is the dominant colour. They can also be a wise option for potraits, too.

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