Framing Clyde Aspevig

The first time I heard the name Clyde Aspevig it was Sharon Calahan singing his praises. I finally got the honor of framing one of the Montana painter’s works a month or so ago when a couple brought in this 18″ x 24″ oil, “Wyoming Vista.” We set it in a 3″ quartersawn white oak frame with Medieval Oak stain and a slip finished with bronze wax. Trevor Davis made the frame.I’m very pleased with the harmony of frame and painting—not only with respect to color but also harmony of form and texture. Although we’ve made this flattened carved cushion profile, No. 411 CV, for several paintings in the past, it’s never been better suited and alive to a painting than it is here. I love how the cushion repeats the shape of the low rounded hills, and how the 2:3:1 molding proportions extend and enhance the great depth and perspective of this work expressing Mr. Aspevig’s reverence for Big Sky country and “a lifelong relationship with the living land—an ever-present friend.”