Jury Selected!

This is "A Round Porch" - a painting I did from the 1934 Home Portraits series I painted this past year. This home once existed in Oradell, NJ and I'm sure many a home owner or resident spent cool summer evenings on that lovely round porch! I was so struck by the "feel" of this home I had to paint it.

The 1934 photo references were in black-and-white, so the color choices were my own. I wanted something that would show the warmth that I felt this home had to offer, hence the soft yellow. I thought the blue door would help to define the entrance.

I had entered this into a juried show (the Buck Moon Arts Festival) along with it's sister painting (Blue Striped Awnings). I was delighted to learn that a Round Porch had been accepted! It now goes into their show & will be on display with the other paintings of the festival until sometime in September. Fantastic!

But now, as you can see, the image was not framed. I had to finish off the painting for delivery next week. As with many of my paintings, this is painted on a canvas sheet that has no backing or wood frame to it. It is simply a sheet of high-grade quality canvas. I often paint on these, sign & seal them & then store them in acid free binder sheets. When they sell, I take them out & then adhere them to hardboard. However, I wanted to finish this one off a bit differently.

I found a company online that sell's pre-cut, custom frames - Matboards Plus. They sell quality, pre-cut photo mats - perfect for this situation! Check out their website at www.MatboardPlus.com Their site has a area where you can upload your painting or photo, then "try on" different mats. A wide range of mats, both single & double, are available. And unlike some of the other websites I found for mats, this site didn't have a minimum order requirement. Nor did I need to buy multiples of a style - 1 of each was fine. And their prices were great, as was their shipping. I'm quite happy with the order, website & product, so I do recommend them.

I uploaded my image & then proceeded to try-on different mat options - keeping in mind that I wanted a simple black frame (which I already had). I wound up ordering a few different mats (about 3), just to have options to pick from in person. I selected the combination that I first thought I would use. Here's how it looks now:

I am always so amazed at how different a painting can look, once it is matted & framed! Using a yellow frame with black "cinder" inner frame - I ordered a double mat for this piece that I think works just great.. These are combined with the black frame I already had - and I think the whole combination looks fantastic!

So many people ask me "how do I frame a painting done on a canvas sheet?" I tell them, same as you would a watercolor, just don't put the acrylic painting behind glass. My paintings are sealed so they should be protected as they are - and this example shows how the look can be enhanced with a simple double-mat & frame! (I've used single mats also).

Check out Matboard Plus for your next framing solution! I know I will go back, I'm quite pleased with their product & their options (& prices too!)