Dark Silver and Painted Frame

Frame Cut Down

The frame from the previous post after it has been cut down. The slip is painted with Farrow and Ball paint.

Silver Frame Cut Down

This large 20th Century silver frame is being cut down to fit a smaller painting, the bevel slip fits the painting, and the silver frame is the correct size on the short dimension, but the long side will be cut down to fit.

20th C silver frame

This silver leaf water gilded frame has come for some minor repairs. It was made sometime during the second half of the 20th Century. I like the tarnished leaf, the colour goes very well with the painting, and the cracked gesso adds a nice aged look.

Horse racing canvas

This painting on canvas by Jeremy Houghton has been framed in a deep cove frame with   silver gilded bevel sight edge. 

Silver, white gold, and aluminium leaf gilding

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.  

Antique cut down

A silver gilded antique frame that has been cut down at two diagonal opposite corners, it was then glued, clamped and pinned. 

Olympics 2012

The Olympic games opens on July 27th, here is my little display to celebrate the games being in England this summer! The stock photo is one I used in an Olympic themed framing competition a few years ago, it has been temporarily put in this 18th Century frame, simply because it fitted. The photo was originally in the frame you can just see behind the easel which is gilded in gold, silver, and bronze. This frame is now used to hold a selection of newspaper cuttings and articles I have collected over the years.
I was very lucky to get a pair of tickets for three different events, so I am really looking forward to the summer games.

Silver and black frame detail

A bought in pre-gessoed frame, which is usually used as a bevelled slip/liner, is painted with black paint, the bevel is oil gilded (1 hour size) in silver leaf and then heavily distressed with the edges of the frame rubbed through to the gesso base.

Silver gilded

This late 20th Century water gilded silver leaf frame is a beauty, it has a lovely distressed and aged look. It was brought to the workshop today, and will be fitted with a bevelled edge mirror. 

Carved frame cut down

This very nice carved frame was one I had in stock, the finish is silver gilding with a heavy colourwash. It was a few inches too big for the painting so I had to cut it down, this was done by breaking the frame apart at two corners, it was then cut to size and re-joined. There is always a problem when cutting down a carved frame - where the corners would have originally been beautifully shaped, after it is cut the irregular shapes of the frame can look awkward and unmatched at the corners. In this case the two corners matched up relatively well and did not stand out.

Silver gilded frame

This frame has been water gilded all over with silver leaf, there are various bole colours (yellow, red, and black) beneath the leaf. The leaf is distressed to show the colours coming through the gilding, the whole frame is then coloured and toned slightly to give it an aged and tarnished look, this was done with a mixture of black and walnut spirit based stain and pigmented wax. The whole surface was then sealed to prevent the leaf darkening any more in the future. The painting is by Simon Quadrat.

Silver icon

This icon has been framed in a silver gilt frame, it is mounted in velvet covered foamboard, the icon is pushed into a cut-out in the foamboard and is held snugly and firmly in place. It is glazed with anti-reflective glass. The frame is an old frame which has been cut down, it is gilded in silver leaf which has been varnished to give it a warmer gold colour.

Silver leaf frame

This watercolour has been framed in a silver leaf, water gilded frame, which has been distressed so the red bole shows through. The surface is then sealed with an acrylic varnish to prevent the silver from tarnishing.

Silver leaf

The triangle has been gilded with silver leaf. The leaf is adhered to the surface with an acrylic gold size. This is very easy and convenient to use, although rather limited in applications. The leaf is sealed to prevent it tarnishing through oxidation.

Big pierced mirror frame

Making a triangular frame

Here we are making an equal sided triangular frame. We (VERY CAREFULLY!) used the table saw to cut the mitres. The moulding was too wide to cut on the other frame cutting equipment we have (Morso and OMGA saw), so a simple sliding jig was used. The corners are then joined with Hoffmann dovetail keys. The frame is for a mirror, and will be finished with silver leaf and grey painted scoop section.The frame behind the triangle is a custom made walnut profile, and the frame to the left is an antique oak frame which will be cut down to period frame an early 20th Century painting.

Reflections by Nigel Ashcroft

More frames finished this morning, paintings are again by Nigel Ashcroft, framed in water gilded silver leaf frames.