French mats, to be a no-brainer

rocksbreakglass

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Jan 17, 2006
Posts
8
Loc
Georgia
I just heard about these things today and I have a potential employer wanting me to know SOMETHING, ANYTHING about french mats tomorrow.
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I know that they are decorative lines drawn on the mat...man, whatever happen to just simple ol' v-grooves, which I was just startin to get a handle on?! :rolleyes:

I need to know some basic knowledge, ways to measure 'em out, the tools, etc.
any input is much much appreciated! :D
 
Some info here

To explain how to do them step by step would result in a small journal!

But................

You can buy corner marking gauges as detailed in the link above. You can also make your own - get a strip of matboard, about 4" wide and 2' long, mitre one end in your morso, then, starting about half an inch from the shortest side, mark increments of one eigth of an inch along the 45 degree angle - number them.

Line the matboard strip along the bottom of your mat aperture so that the 45 degree angle comes away from the right hand corner of the aperture.
(Left if you are left-handed)

With a sharp, hard pencil, make tiny dots on the mat to correspond with the increments you have made on your gauge. Not all of them of course!

Write down the numbers of the increments you use.

For a six line French Mat, say - start about half an inch away from the aperture, mark two, one eigth of an inch apart, then another quarter of an inch from the last one, then one three eigths away from that, then one five eigths from that (the gap between these last two will be your 'panel' of colour, usually very subtle.

The last one would be about three eigths from the washline.

Repeat on the other 3 corners.

Join the lines up with lines of watercolour, or whatever, with a draughtsman's ruling pen.

I draw very faint pencil lines to outline the washline, to guide my brush.

Lines should get progressively further apart.

I use artists quality watercolour for all lines - work from the inside out so that you do not have to wait for them to dry.

I usually add one more line almost touching the last one when it is dry, so close that the gauge is not needed, this last one may even be in gold ink or foil or even real gold leaf (I draw a line of acrylic gloss medium to adhere the leaf)

Much, much more to it, how to steady your hand, how to load the ruling pen, choice and subtlety of colour, type of brush. The band of wash is edged by lines, usually a slightly darker tone than the wash itself - draw these lines before or after the wash? (I do them after.)

Laying a panel of clean water along the washline first? (Yes) DOING the washline first and letting it dry before starting the single lines? (I do)

etc.

Phew!

[ 05-11-2006, 06:32 AM: Message edited by: RoboFramer ]
 
Another method I like for doing the band of wash, inlay it - cheat!

Cut your aperture and decide how far this band of colour will be away from the aperture and how wide, say one and a half inches away and half inch wide, and your overall mount width is 4".

Set your mountcutter to two and a half inches, cut 4 sides. Reset it to two inches, cut again.
You will be left with a half inch wide panel which you can colour without fear - dabbing with a piece of natural sponge gives a marble effect, you can even splatter colour on with a toothbrush, whatever. I like a subtle base colour overlaid with gold paint/ink/wax, applied with a sponge

Let it dry, tape it back in. Oh, almost forgot, before cutting draw a few random lines across the back of the area to make sure you put it back in the right way!

Only problem with these is that you cannot edge them with lines, but they look good just on their own, i.e. without the rest of the lines. But that would not really be a French Mat.

Just another way to achieve the hardest part.
 
You can also draw the lines with pigment based pens. It's certainly not traditional, but it does do the job.
 
whatever happen to just simple ol' v-grooves
In my opinion, French mats have withstood the test of time, while v-grooves were a trend that has largely gone by the wayside.

V-grooves were made possible, then simple, with improved straight-line matcutters and, now, most CMCs. Despite earnest attempts by Wizard's Da Vinci system and maybe others, French mats still require some time, practice, skill and patience.

Thus, they are valued by appreciative customers and, so, by employers.
 
Originally posted by RoboFramer:

For a six line French Mat, say - start about half an inch away from the aperture, mark two, one eigth of an inch apart, then another quarter of an inch from the last one, then one three eigths away from that, then one five eigths from that (the gap between these last two will be your 'panel' of colour, usually very subtle.

The last one would be about three eigths from the washline.

Forgot to add that dots placed say quarter of an inch apart at a 45 degree angle, will result, when joined, in lines less than that apart. Experiment.
 
If you to to pictureframingmagazine.com and then
articles index and then preservation supplements,
the 1998 supplement covers this topic.


Hugh
 
And HERE is that link.

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(Edit) just realised it was written by Hugh himself - Nice One!

(Gawd could I have saved myself some time this morning! That'll teach me not to try and be clever while America is asleep!)
 
(Employer) "So, Mr Rocksbreaksglass, we need someone who knows all about and can do French Mats, what can you offer us?"

(Rocksbreaksglass) "Ah, don't worry about that, just get 'em from Maria Nucci - I do a mean 'V' groove though!"




Sorry!
 
A few years ago, Alan Rolph began a treatise on the differences among English, French, and Italian designed mats.

He never finished the discourse (he seems to have dropped off the Grumble). Could anyone (hint: John) clarify these differences especially with images?
 
Originally posted by Bill Henry-:
A few years ago, Alan Rolph began a treatise on the differences among English, French, and Italian designed mats.

He never finished the discourse (he seems to have dropped off the Grumble). Could anyone (hint: John) clarify these differences especially with images?
Sorry Bill, but like Sam Cooke......

Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about the Science I took
Don't know much about the French Mat Book

But I do know if we love Hugh
and I know that if he loves us too
What a wonderful post he could write!
 

awww, piece of cake...I got the job and he was glad to know I had some basic knowledge of what a French mat is. :D Thank you EVERYBODY!!!!
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I was like, "I can do painted bevels," and he says, "well, that's a start! you're hired."
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Yippy!
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Bill Henry, I'm still alive and kicking and making what you call French Mats. The thread was called INKS FOR FRANCH MATS" I seem to recall and should be in the archives. some time November 2004. I did not follow up at the time but I have subsequently managed to find a helper on the photo side so that I can show them on the grumble soon
Alan
 
Alan,

Good to hear you're still around!

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
 
In answer to Bill's question:
Decoration of mounts started in Italy, with the
elaborate architectural designs that Gorgio Vasari
used to surround the Renaissance drawings he collected. Later Italian designs tend to be simple
with a few bold lines and perhaps a gold panel.
French decoration reached its height in the 18
Century with the work of such artisans as Mariatte
and Glomy (who also gave us the glass mat). Their
designs are much more complex than Italian designs, with lines of various widths that are set
at well-proportioned intervals. These designs include wash and paper panels. The French call
them "lavis et fillet" meaning wash and line.
Mount decorations in England were more regular
than than the French, with sets of equal lines
and repeated intervals. In the 1850's, the window
mat was developed at the British Museum and from
then on one can talk about mat decoration and if
the window is French, it can be called a French
mat.


Hugh
 
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