Old Work

An example of some old work, water gilded frame before ageing and distressing.

Step frame

This frame was made by taking a flat moulding and then adding the raised step, this was made from some offcuts from another job, where I had to cut the back of a moulding. The frame was then gessoed, black bole was painted on just the top flat and it was water gilded in 22ct moon gold. The gilding was distressed lightly and then burnished. The inner and outer part of the frame were then painted in primer and a grey white before being aged with wax and rottenstone.  

Gilded bole

The two frames from a couple of posts ago, which were painted in Georgian Red bole. They have been gilded, distressed, and then the outers are lightly burnished. The next photo shows the gilding masked off and it the cove has been painted with an acrylic primer and then two coats of off-white.

Gilding example

This is not one of my frames, but an example of another framers work. A well made water gilded and burnished frame in white gold, nice work.  

Varied colour distressed frame

This frame has been in a couple of recent posts, it has now been finished. This is what was done; after I painted on some stippled paint I covered the inner section with Liberon liming wax which was then wiped off with a cloth, the sides were brushed with antique pine wax.
The frame was left for a few minutes and then I brushed round the inner part (where I had waxed) with various dry pigments such as yellow ochre, and also mixes of pigments in burgundy/reds, blues, brown/greens, and so on. The painted section was given some distressing with fine abrasive paper, and then the gilding was carefully wiped down with white spirit to remove any excess wax. Finally the whole frame was given a really good polish.

The possibilities and variations in the painted section are endless, this example uses a number of colours which are quite strong, although this variation/effect does not come across that well in my photos.

Bright gilded frame

This is not one of my frames, it was supplied by a gallery and I am just fitting a painting in.  It is burnished on the inner and outer edges and is quite heavily distressed all over.

Starting the gilding...

 

                                      

Here we have a couple of frames gilded in 23.5ct gold leaf - one is burnished while the other (top) was left matt. The next frame is done in 18ct lemon gold, this frame later had the outer section burnished. The last frame is gilded with 22ct moon gold over various bole colours with burnished outer.

Shiny gold box

A water gilded box frame which has been burnished to give a look of solid gold, this highly reflective finish is unique to the water gilding process. The background picture in the centre, has a lovely little antique gilded frame which over the years has been rubbed right through to the red bole, yellow bole, and even to the gesso. It has a great label on the back which I will take a photo of tomorrow. 

Framing an original print

This original print is mounted with 3mm thick cotton museum mountboard, it is glazed with UV filter glass, and the frame is a classic water gilded and highly burnished finish. The shape of the profile is often called a bolection or simply a reverse. The gilding has been given a small amount of distressing.
I think certain profiles with a water gilded finish suit the work of artists like Graham Sutherland and Francis Bacon very well, often using the distressing and revealing the leaf overlaps as a distinct and intentional effect, they give a period look and it is perhaps close to how the artists may have originally framed their work.

Burnished gilding with wash

Burnished water gilding

Here is the frame from the previous post after it has been burnished. This is done with a tool made from agate, the surface is rubbed which condenses the leaf into the bole and gives a deep reflective finish which resembles solid gold.