Sunday, January 17, 2021

Frame Fix-Up

Back in the day, when you went to a picture framer they didn't always just cut and join pre-finished moldings. I really like the frames that truly were "custom" where the framer started with wood and created a surface treatment.


As purchased. Bottom and left rails with no finish remaining, deterioration on remander.


I purchased this painting a few years back. The frame's finish had suffered greatly. Two legs of the frame were down to bare wood. Possibly it had gotten damp and the gesso deteriorated, or perhaps someone started trying to (misguidedly) return the frame to "natural wood" and gave up.


Applying gesso


After a cleanup, new gesso was applied. A painted finish was built up with applications of various colors, along with some gentle distressing, to wind up with an "interesting grey".


Building the paint layers


There is no finish or additional work over the paint. When the painting is sent out for cleaning and re-varnishing I may need to adjust the frame color. Finishing will take place at that time.

 

Finished (sort of)





Hanging



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