In the Frame

Due to a recent change in my personal circumstances, I have developed an additional interest to complement my day job. Having been a gallery manager for 26 years, I am approaching my 27th anniversary on 1 August. I have returned to a hobby I shared with my father at least 10 years before I joined the gallery. This involves restoring old frames.

He ran an art business that often required new frames for antiquarian images, which suited older, more traditional frames. Occasionally this simply involves cleaning and re-stringing frames and adding a new mount to enhance their appearance.

I have been advising customers and artists for many years and it was a natural progression for me to begin this work.

Following the death of my father last year, I was tasked with clearing the garage where he stored numerous frames. During this process, I discovered several exceptional pieces. I subsequently explored how these could be incorporated into my gallery business. To date, I have restored 15 frames, up-cycled to a high standard including having them backed and strung by a professional framer for that finishing touch.

Some of the pieces have already been sold and others are awaiting their new home. (See samples on this page). Some images show a ‘before and after’ comparison to demonstrate the potential achieved with vision, time and creativity. In addition to renovating existing frames I have commissioned bespoke frames for my own work from the woodwork artists that exhibit with us. As mentioned in the previous issue of Artistry my work is photography. Therefore, instead of displaying them in a traditional way with glazed frame and mount I decided that my work lends itself to a more artistic presentation. Consequently, my photographs are now printed on canvas. I find that the texture within my work combined with the texture of the canvas creates a seamless integration with the other artworks on display in a gallery setting.