A Frame-Maker’s Journal
Updates and reflections on our work and mission to revive the art and craft of framing pictures. Here I'll show you new jobs we're especially proud of and keep you up on what's going on at the Gallery, as well as discuss topics germane to our work, including handcraft and work generally, the place of art, and ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement (especially its greatest leaders, John Ruskin and William Morris).
I hope you’ll subscribe (see the form in the left column) or at least check back often. And I welcome your comments!
—Tim Holton
A Frame With a Nod to a Chairmaker
My friend Jim Whitaker painted this 12″ x 16″ watercolor for a mutual friend, who asked me to frame it. The image includes a beloved family heirloom Victorian chair. The painting is simple and asked for nothing more in the way of a setting than a nice neutra... continue reading.
Framing Jan Schmuckal’s Art of Protection and Prospect
Illinois artist Jan Schmuckal’s beautiful oil painting, “Wild Lilies” (2014, 24″ x 36″) offers a great example of the compositional principle of protection and prospect that is key to how frames work with pictures—which made my job of des... continue reading.
A Kobe Leaf Frame for an Ohara Koson Woodblock
As part of the modern Japanese print movement known as shin hanga, Ohara Koson is not as well known as Hiroshi Yoshida or Kawase Hasui. I for one couldn’t tell you why—and I can’t get enough of those other two guys. Certainly in subject-matter, he was an u... continue reading.
Framing Charles Warren Eaton
Our friends at California Historical Design are offering this lovely oil, “Entrance to the Woods, Bloomfield NJ” (ca. 1910), by the significant East Coast tonalist painter Charles Warren Eaton (1857-1937). We framed the 16″ x 12″ painting in a 3&... continue reading.
A Lover’s War: Framing James Baldwin
Here’s a recent job to commemorate the first day of Black History Month. This 13″ x 6″ portrait of James Baldwin (1924-1987) is a print of a painting by Carl Grauer. (See that original at right. The artist obviously understands the importance of frames... continue reading.
Framing Kim Lordier for Beloved California V
It seems to me that every time I see Kim Lordier she has just gotten back from another corner of California where she has taken her passion for painting her native state—or where her passion has taken her. Whether it’s in a eucalyptus grove on the Peninsula, on ... continue reading.
Framing Robert Flanary for Beloved California V
One day in the last century a painter showed up at the studio with a batch of canvases. He was in town from Spokane, Washington, and his name was Robert Flanary. Robert explained that in addition to being an artist, he dealt in antiques from the American Arts and Crafts... continue reading.
Framing Carol Peek for Beloved California V
Carol Peek is represented in Beloved California V with three paintings, including this new one, “Season of Gold.” We framed it in a simple 2″ cushion, our No. 440, with a gilt slip. The quartersawn white oak frame mimics the rolling Marin hills. Althou... continue reading.
Framing Robin Moore for Beloved California V
Robin Moore first won us over with her views of Point Reyes featured in her 2008 show “Tomales Bay: A Shifting Light.” (Those works can all be found on Robin’s archive page.) We haven’t had a great deal of work from her since she moved to Abiquiu... continue reading.