Our friends at California Historical Design in Alameda just posted this 1918 Percy Gray (1869-1952) watercolor that we framed for them. The untitled 10″ x 14″ painting depicts a path through oaken hills leading to Mt. Tamalpais.

I made for it a 2-1/2″ wide frame in quarter sawn white oak with carved details. (My design sketch is shown at right.) The basic form is a version of a very low cove, or “dish,” form (No. 300 BC Low), augmented with a strap near the sight edge and some carved details: a running pattern around that strap and a simple bud pattern to articulate the corners. Avi fumed, oiled and waxed the frame. The slip is also fumed oak, but finished in bronze wax.

I love the harmony of fumed oak finished with linseed oil and wax, as well as the touch of bronze, with Gray’s tonalist palette. It’s one of the principles of tonalism to capture the harmonizing atmospheric light that unifies the natural creation and beckons us down such paths as this one—that calls us to remember our part in the life of the land we live on.

We’ve had the privilege of framing quite a few works by Percy Gray. A longer post on the artist can be found here.

Again, this lovely and significant work is available from California Historical Design. Also just posted by them are two historical tiles we framed: this Moresque tile of Yosemite Falls and this Rookwood vellum landscape tile.

More examples of how we’ve framed watercolors may be found in the Portfolio…

—Tim Holton

Process—

A corner of the raw frame just before finishing.

This is a classic California impressionist painting by British-born Frank Montague Moore (1877-1967), painted in the 1920’s. The oil painting, which is 12″ x 16″, is set in a 2-1/2″ wide stained quarter sawn white oak frame in our No. 308.0 profile—a simple scoop with a bead near the sight edge, and has a 23 kt gilt slip. Framed for and offered by California Historical Design.

Forty-one of Moore’s paintings are very handsomely framed by the historic bridge at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena. The so-called “picture bridge” was restored a few years ago. One of the paintings, shown at right as featured on a postcard, includes eucalyptus trees Moore treated in a similar manner to those in the painting above. More images of the bridge are below—the first image showing the bridge today, and two more period postcards.

From Wikipedia:

Frank Montague Moore was born November 24, 1877, in Taunton, England, and studied at the Liverpool Art School and the Royal Institute. He immigrated to the United States and took additional painting lessons from Henry Ward Ranger. In 1910, he moved from New York City to Hawaii, where he worked as a purchasing agent for Hawaii Plantations.^[2] He became the first director of the Honolulu Museum of Art in 1924, but resigned in 1927, shortly before the museum opened.^[3]

In 1928, he left Hawaii for California, where he painted 41 murals collectively known as the Picture Bridge for the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena and many easel paintings of California landscapes.^[4] Moore died in Carmel, California, on March 5, 1967.^[5]

Again, this lovely painting is available from California Historical Design.

—Tim Holton

This is a woodblock print by Shiro Kasamatsu (1898-1991), “Kasugana, Nara.” Kasamatsu played a significant role in the early twentieth century shin-hanga (new prints) movement. But this print, made in 1961, is from the artist’s later period, when he was one of very few shin-hanga artists who made the transition to the sōsaku-hanga (creative prints) movement. The image size of the print is 14-1/2″ x 10″.

No. 22.0

The mitered frame, which measures 21″ x 16″ over all, is in profile No. 22.0—3/4″ in walnut with black wax. The simple profile is beveled on both the inside and outside, with a peak at the center, so the shape mimics the rhythmic pattern of angles in the prints. That pattern is also echoed in the frame’s corners with splayed proud splines. A painted slip pulls out the blue background.

Three other Kasamatsu prints we framed are shown in this blog post.

Learn more about Shiro Kasamatsu at Moonlit Sea Prints…

See more examples of how we’ve framed Japanese prints in the Portfolio…

—Tim Holton

I’m proudly adding this one to the “Japanese Print Tradition” section of the Portfolio. It’s a beautiful example from outstanding early twentieth century American print maker Helen Hyde (1868 – 1919). We set “A Mexican Coquette” (1912; colored woodcut, 10″ diameter) in a hand carved No. 14 CV Rounded Corner frame—3/4″ wide, in walnut, stained black. The basic version of the frame, No. 14 CV, has always been popular and a go-to especially for woodblock prints (the most basic “printable frame”), and we often interrupt the carved panel near the corners with stops. But the curved lines that are such a salient characteristic of this print, and the vernacular setting, suggested to me these simple rounded corners.

You can’t beat a completely plain rag mat for woodblock prints and etchings. That blank expanse not only allows the eye to focus on the fine detail of the print, but is also the perfect complement, and thus enhancement, to that detail.

We’ve greatly enjoyed framing Alan Tuttle’s paintings over the years. I think the first one was “The Falls,” at right; we also had fun framing “Flower.” Here are two more frames we made for Alan recently. The artist, who lives in Delaware, didn’t ship the paintings to us. For these pictures, we just Photoshopped his paintings into the frames.

Both paintings are in 4-1/2″ wide carved walnut compound mitered frames finished with linseed oil. “The Lauren H.” is 20″ x 32-1/2″, and has an 18 kt pale gold liner. Trevor made the frame.

Learn more about Alan Tuttle here…

“Ripples” is 30″ x 40″. This frame, which is also 4-1/2″ wide and walnut, has a white gold slip. A modified version of the frame on “The Falls” at the top of this post, the carving pattern connects to the enchanting and wonderfully rendered web of cypress branches. The result is a familiar Gothic pattern, reminding us of the organic inspiration of the Gothic architectural tradition.

We had a lovely opening for landscape painter Simon Addyman last Saturday. Simon and his wife Carol came down for the event from their home in Auburn. In addition to eleven paintings we had framed and hung, we also display another dozen paintings that Simon brought to the reception. As luck would have it, we were able to instantly frame eight of them in ready-mades that worked perfectly—growing the exhibit that day by about 75%! A few are shown below, but all the work is now on the exhibit’s page, here.

Simon joined the Gallery for our annual all-gallery show Beloved California this past winter. It’s an honor to be representing this exceptional talent.

Simon Addyman’s work will be featured in the Gallery through April 12. Please come enjoy the exhibit!

Simon Addyman
“Foothill Trees”
Oil on linen panel, 11″ x 14″.
Carved quarter sawn white oak frame, fumed, with pale gold slip.
$2,300 framed.
BUY

Simon Addyman
“Peaceful Winter”
Oil on linen panel, 11″ x 14″.
Carved quarter sawn white oak frame (Dark Medieval Oak stain), with white gold slip.
$2,550 framed.
BUY

Simon Addyman
“Monterey Rocks and Surf”
Oil on linen panel, 8″ x 16″.
Walnut cove frame with white gold slip.
$2,500 framed.
BUY

View the entire exhibit…

More about Simon Addyman…

We just finished framing this spectacular painting, “Alta California,” that a customer commissioned from Erik Tiemens, a long time member of the Holton Studio Gallery roster. Erik brings us closer to the dramatic crashing surf and rugged coastline of the state—but as the timeless background to our history. The 16″ x 20″ painting depicts the rugged California coast as the 16th Century Spanish explorers might have encountered it. We made it a 3-1/2″ wide Compound Mitered frame,  No. 318 + Cap 811 in quartersawn white oak (Saturated Medieval Oak stain), with a gilt slip. I chose a cove profile for its effect in enhancing the forms depicted (the rocks and cliff, the breaking waves, and the swirling clouds) as well as the dramatic perspective, which plants us firmly on the rocky beach but also carries our eye to the precarious fate of the ship anchored in the distance. The fine bead near the sight edge acknowledges and underscores the artist’s fine brushwork and rendering. The dark stain is the perfect shadowy foil to surround Erik’s masterful handling of light, while the gilt slip seems to reflect the bright sunlight and provide emphasis on this remarkably powerful scene.

These two below in our inventory are on a similar theme to “Alta California.” See more work by Erik Tiemens on his page, here.

Erik Tiemens
“Cliffs Before the Farallons”
Water-Soluble Wax Paint/wood panel, 16″ x 20″.
$3,600 framed.
BUY

Erik Tiemens
“Bonnington’s Beach”
watercolor and pen and ink on French linen paper, 6 1/4″ x 9 3/4″. $2,000 framed.
BUY

We just put a beautiful batch of framed prints and ready-made frames on sale. This is a short one for the special, long weekend! Ends Tuesday, February 18.

Happy Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day!

Go to sale page…

A No. 322—2 3/8″ with deep scooped back. Walnut with clear finish. 18kt gilt slip. Was $800. Just $475! Click image for more and to purchase.

Yoshiko Yamamoto, “Magnolia”
Linoleum block print, 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″. Ed: 252/300. $675. Sale price: $495
BUY

I often say that what we’re offering is the simple home for pictures. The simple home ideal was practiced and advocated by Bernard Maybeck and Charles Keeler here in Berkeley, and shaped much of the city’s early architecture. I take it to express the principles of vernacular, or folk, domestic architecture, and thus to point to a vast and rich well of design inspiration for frame making.

In the Japan, the traditional house, called a Minka, is an exemplary simple home. Minkas are a favorite subject of artist Hiroto Norikane (b. 1949), who made this etching. The frame we designed for it is just a No. 1, our plainest mitered frame, but with proud splines shaped with the gentle curve characteristic of the roof lines of these wonderful folk structures. I think I’ll call this frame “The Minka.” (At right: two Minka corner samples, one walnut and one cherry, ready to finish.)

This isn’t the first print we’ve made this design for. Here’s a Kawase Hasui woodblock of a row of cozy minkas lining a village street on a rainy night (more on this one in the Portfolio)…

…and a little nineteenth century street scene by Inoue Yasuji:

A Gallery of Hiroto Norikane’s Minkas—

Here’s a sampling of printmaker Hiroto Norikane’s depictions of minkas. These are all from the artist’s page at Panteek Antique Prints.

More on the Minka frame—

The Minka frame can be made in any width and in any wood and stain. Here’s a 3/4″ wide corner sample in walnut stained black (with India ink). The two in the background are 1″ and 3/4″ wide in walnut with Black Wash.