Dream Frame

Less

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Jun 23, 2002
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Dream Frame

Nothing special here, just something a little different to help us think outside of the box!

A client, who travels the globe, brought in an Aboriginal Dream Painting; an oil on canvas. He described a frame he had seen and ask if I could build it for him. I can’t find the work order, but I will describe the job the best I can. It’s very simple.

The outer frame is a Nurrie Caxton black maple 1504, used for its strength. I added a Larson X0466 gold fillet. The next piece is a 3/4” x 4” pine liner, primed and fabric wrapped. I picked up the pine board from the local lumberyard. The inner frame is again the Nurrie Caxton 1504 screwed on top of the liner from the back. That’s it.

DreamFrame
 
That is such a cool painting. I wish someone would bring one into us to frame!

I like the frame design. You did a great job. Do you remember approximately how much that job cost?

Thanks for posting the photos. Your design ideas are inspiring!
 
Thanks for your kind words Jana.
I am going to guess at what I would charge today.

I have not come up with a formula for hand wrapped liners yet. I think abstractly in terms of how much time it might take me and what a similar stock liner would cost a client.

When I price a stacked frame or frame and mat fillet, I always price it in terms of total outside frame demension (width added). This should compensate for the extra labor involved with installing a fillet correctly or stacking labor.

Lets say that the total frame is 5" wide and the painting is 30"x40" (70 UI) The charts say 15.7ft. I like to round up a little on jobs like these.

Outside frame NC $15
LJ fillet $7
Hand-made Liner $18 (easy to do and plenty of profit)
Inside frame NC $15
Total $55ft

16ft x $55 =$880
Fitting $25
Total $905

I did this 4-5 years ago, and I'm sure he got a much better deal than that. But, then again, the housing market around here has doubled also :eek:
 
Nice design that fits well with the nature of the piece. I have seen similar on Caribbean primative paintings, African Batiks and Molas from Panama. When the Molas were prevalent I was using the same basic frame design (frame/panel/frame) with clear acrylic for the panel.
One variation on the theme that was common locally in the 60's was the use of a gold fillet to face the edge of a stretched canvas and then inset into a linen covered panel. The panel was surrounded by a simple square cap frame painted white. I can do a schematic of the design, but haven't a clue how to post it.
 
Thanks Wally!
I had not seen this type of frame before the client described it to me!

If you want help with posting, let me know.
 
That presentation also works well for family portraits, especially the nicer ones that don't require glass.

You can do a single portrait like Less did with the painting mounted on a liner, or you can mount a grouping of smaller portraits on a board covered in fabric (what parent can refuse to buy the whole portrait package?


The combinations are endless, just think what you can suggest to the next person who walks in and wants to "mat" (and they mean it, and intend to have it) a painting.

Thanks for posting the pics, Less.
 
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