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
Framing My Thoughts On Framing Paintings: An Article in “Realism Today”
Realism Today’s online magazine has published an article of mine, “A Frame-Maker’s Thoughts On Framing Paintings,” which aims to help painters think through the problem of framing their work. It begins, If you’re a pictorial artist, you probabl... continue reading.
Tools of the Trade
“Man is a tool using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all.”—Thomas Carlyle On a visit to the shop in early March, Tia Kratter spied my workbench. Her eyes lighting up, she said, “There’s a painting!” The other day, she posted... continue reading.
Welcome Ellen Howard!
We’re proud to announce that Peninsula artist Ellen Howard has joined our gallery roster. We’ve had an eye on Ellen’s work for a while, and knew her a bit as the co-chair of the San Francisco Region chapter of the California Art Club, but really got to... continue reading.
Framing an Alexander Phimister Proctor Bronze
This is a small (the base is 8″ x 8″) bronze of a kodiac bear by one of this country’s foremost animal artists (or “animaliers”), Alexander Phimister Proctor (1860-1950). “I am eternally obsessed,” Proctor said, “with two deep... continue reading.
Framing an Early 20th Century Woodblock
I have a soft spot for anonymous work people bring me to frame. Maybe that’s because most frame-makers are anonymous. But there are plenty of other reasons to love this woodblock. If I have to guess, I’ll say it’s from the 1920’s. (How do we sens... continue reading.
Framing Sam Hyde Harris
We just framed these three landscape oils by the gregarious and much loved southern California painter Sam Hyde Harris (1889-1977). On all three I played with outset corners, although on “Enclave,” the third one below, the outset corners are on the narrower ... continue reading.
Framing Hasui Kawase—II: Bridle Joints
In a post yesterday, I showed a print by Hasui Kawase (1883-1957), “Moon at Mogame,” in a mortise-and-tenon frame similar to our Yoshida frame. This frame too is similar to the Yoshida but instead of mortise-and-tenon joints has bridle joints (see detail). T... continue reading.
Framing Hasui Kawase—I
We love to frame Shin Hanga prints—the twentieth century revival of Japan’s great printmaking tradition. The term “Shin Hanga” means “new prints,” and was coined by the printing house Watanabe—now in its second century—to apply to the... continue reading.
Framing Wellington Reynolds
Thought you might be looking for something serene. Wellington Reynolds (1865-1949) grew up on a farm in Illinois. He moved to Chicago to study painting, later honed his skills in Munich and Paris, before joining the faculty at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1913. In hi... continue reading.