I have spent some time recently l
ooking at my Fusion series of prints and thinking about framing and display options. This is the print which was a free download in last month's newsletter, and the one I had available as a special offer at Sunny Bank Mills. I've put a few thoughts about displaying it below, these are just my preferences (yours might be different!).
A few things to think about:
The style of the print - a contemporary design, with some vibrant colours and flowing patterns from my handmade monoprints set within strong geometric shapes, a black background to intensify the colours and a narrow white border.
The space - where are you thinking of displaying the print? What colour are the walls? Does it need to harmonise with other furniture or objects? Are you displaying it on its own or as a series or mixed gallery wall? Would it be a focal point, e.g. at the end of a hall or in an alcove? What size is the print and will it look too small / big in the space you have in mind? In the examples below I am using an A3 print (42 x 29.7cm).
Framing options - I prefer to use white, black or grey frames for this style of print, which I think suits the style and colours for this contemporary design. Either painted wood or aluminium frames would be suitable. Think about the width of the frame and whether you want to include an additional mount (mat) around the print.
Example 1 below - displaying the print on its own with light coloured walls (this could be quite a minimalist interior, maybe a living room wall, hallway or home office space). Hope you like the random houseplant! The black frame helps it stand out against the light colour walls. Depending on the size of the space, an A3 print could get a bit lost when displayed on its own, so using a chunkier frame and including a white mount increases the overall size and helps draw attention to the image. The example below shows an A3 print with a mount and frame size roughly 40x50cm.
Example 2 - if the walls are a darker colour, I might still use a white or off-white mount, but consider a white or light grey frame. This really draws attention to the print. Another option I have used quite often with my monoprints is a grey mount in a white frame.
Example 3 - wider mount. I prefer to keep the mount (mat) size roughly in the proportions in example 1 above, otherwise it risks overpowering the actual print as in the example below.
Example 4 below - without a mount. As the print already includes a white border, framing without a mount looks perfectly ok. In this case I think a narrower frame looks good, for example in thin black aluminium. My personal preference is to use a mount when displaying the print on its own, but frame without a mount when displaying the work as part of a series, or in a smaller wall space, or if standing the print on a shelf or ledge.
Example 5 - I think these prints really come alive when displayed as a series of 3,4 or 5. In this case I would use narrow frames without a mount, as I wouldn't want the frames to interrupt the view as you look at the group as a whole and as the eye moves between the prints in the series. I've mocked up some examples below.
I hope you found this useful!