by Brooks Ann
Much of our business at
Frames by Edward Wright comes from local art collectors who want to frame their
special collections in unique heirloom quality frames. Often after a collector orders a frame from
us, they are so happy with the results that they come back to us again when
they add more art to their collections.
Once a customer starts to
trust us with customizing, the true collaboration begins. Recently, I got an order from one of our retailers
who works with a collector that I've customized a few frames for in the
past. He had recently purchased this
painting by an up and coming artist while travelling in Paris. He was thrilled with the frames that we had
customized for him in the past and was happy to order a one-of-a-kind Frames By
Edward Wright frame for his new work of art.
Our customer consulted with
the collector and he chose a few of our samples as inspiration guides for
finishes and carves that he liked. He
liked the uniqueness of the finish 233 on our sample #4713.
This distressed sample
features 12K gold with a combed panel.
He requested that the undercoat be changed from black to red.
He told our customer that he wanted a 4-inch custom corner carve. The carve sample that he was drawn to was the leaf carve on our sample #5159.
With the painting in his possession, our retailer made an
appointment to come by our workshop to consult directly with me for this unique
order. I was told that the collector
loved the frames I had made for him in the past and that he trusted me to use
my expert opinion to create a frame perfect for this piece.
I was happy to accept the challenge.
I must admit that I was a little confused as to his sample
choices for this particular work of art.
Finish 233 is mostly colored with bright yellow clay with raw sienna
casein. The piece didn't really have
yellow or raw sienna tones in it at all.
The carve inspiration was also a bit perplexing. The painting is a very industrial scene, yet
the carve features very graceful leaves.
I decided that since he said that he trusted me, I would use
my expert opinion to make some custom changes that will really make the
painting shine.
The frame was to be crafted from our SS molding. I came up with a brand new carve for this molding keeping the painting and the leaf inspiration in mind. I created a very regular and industrial looking version of a leaf carve to highlight the angular streets, buildings and windows.
For the finish, I used the requested red undercoat with 12K gold. Yet, I changed the raw sienna casein to a custom tan with a hint of purple to bring out the colors of the streets and buildings. The combing lightly revealed the original yellow underneath. It was finished with a custom dust color also hand-mixed from colors within the piece.
The customer loved it and was happy that he trusted me to
create this special frame!