Contemporary white frames

I finished a couple of white floating type frames today. 
The top one is for a private customer and the bottom frame is for Trinity House Gallery in Broadway. 
I like this style of framing, and have always associated it with the St. Ives school of painters and artists. The top frame has an outer limed frame with white painted backing and inner frame. The bottom frame is painted with Farrow and Ball lime white and then given a coating of grey wax to give an aged appearance. In both examples the inner frame holding the panel is secured to the backing board with screws.

more mountboard storage...

I finally got started on putting the mountboard away today, it had to be done as trying to find a certain colour amongst the pile of mountboard sheets and offcuts was getting ridiculous. The smaller offcuts have been sorted into colour order and put in a very large box, not ideal, but it will do for the time being. The boards on the left are the ones we use most like off white, and antique white, and on the right are all the other colours. I've still got a few boxes and bags to sort through but I should have it done over the weekend.

 

Just as I was leaving work today I took a photo of the view from behind the workshop, and one looking out from the front. What a lovely part of the world to live and work in.

more benches...

We did some more work on the mounting bench today, it is now positioned roughly where it will be, it still needs some dividers fitting for the sheets of mountboard, and the offcuts. We also put together another 8' x 4' bench, and started work on the second picture rack, this one is going next to the toilet door, it is 4' wide x 7' high x 2' deep. Finally we cut up the strips of 18mm MDF which will be used in the reception room to hold the frame corner samples. The MDF will be given a couple of coats of quick drying acrylic primer undercoat and then be finished with good old magnolia emulsion paint.

Mounting bench

  

I spent a few hours at the workshop today (all day in fact!) doing various bits of framing and jobs around the workshop. This will be the mounting bench, underneath will be a store for sheets of mountboard on the left, and offcuts on the right. I have been using the Kreg pocket hole jig again, and it makes building benches really easy!

The sign is up

My new sign went up today, it was done by Cam Graphic who are based on the same estate. I think I will eventually also get a smaller sign by the door with my opening hours and other information for customers. 

The partition has been finished, I say finished, it still needs painting, gaps at the top sorting etc. But at least I can start organising the final layout of the workshop. I have also finished the storage rack, although at some point in the future will put some strips of carpet in some of the racks to protect delicate frames, but it can now be used to store frames. The next building job is the mounting bench and mountboard storage unit, and also the panels for displaying all of my frame corner samples.

Nearly there...

The partition should be finished tomorrow, it just needs the ply fixing on both sides, which is being delivered in the morning. It will still need painting and also the small gap between the beam and roof will need sealing, but these jobs will have to wait a while. 

My picture storage rack has still not been finished, so much for hoping to get it and various other units built last week! It WILL be done by the end of tomorrow, damn thing.

Partition is started

A carpenter who works on the estate started work on the partition wall today. The timber used here was part of a partition wall in another unit on the estate, this was taken down to make a larger room, so we were offered it for free. There is not enough timber to do the whole wall, but is a great start.

Work continues on the racking

I spent the most of the day framing, and then did some work on the storage rack in the early evening. I bought a Kreg Junior pocket hole jig to fix the uprights to the base, middle, and top of the racking, and I have to say it is a great bit of kit, with many practical uses for the framer/craftsman. In the top photo I am drilling the kreg screw holes. The 8' x 4' 18mm MDF sheet has been cut in half on a table saw, these uprights are then screwed to the base. Next the middle shelf will be put in and the base uprights will be screwed to it. The top part of the unit will be split in two, for storage of smaller frames and pictures. 
 

Storage and fittings

We started building a storage rack today, it will be quite a monster when its finished, with a 9' x 4' base x 7' high, it already weighs a ton. It will be used to store customers orders before and after they are completed.
I want to try and get most, if not all, of the new benches and storage units built this week, otherwise it will never get done as work is really starting to build up.

A couple of new corner samples...

Both samples have the following processes:

Fill and sand wood

Size glue coat 1:8

7 layers of gesso 1:10

Sand gesso (240 and 400)

5 layers of Charbonnel rouge bole 1:13 on inner and outer sections

Burnish bole with wire wool 0000 and degrease with meths

Apply moulded acanthus mitre leaf ornament

Water gild in 23.5ct gold leaf

Quick drying acrylic primer/undercoat on scoop and side

Sample 1. (on left) colour and finishing (paints are Farrow & Ball):

Hay solid base coat No. 37

Lime white wash No. 1

Cats paw wash No. 240

Light gray wash No. 17

Liming wax on scoop and sides

Warm ochre dry pigment

Raw sienna light dry pigment

Everest grey pigment

Light rottenstone

Distress gilding with 0000 wire wool

Burnish inner sight edge and outer high point

Oil gild with1 hour Japan size the highlights of acanthus leaf

Distress acanthus leaf with rottenstone

Seal gilding and paint finish with Lascaux Fixativ spray

Sample 2. (on right) colour and finishing:

Stony ground base coat No. 211

Lime white wash No. 1

Pavilion gray wash No. 242

Light gray wash No. 17

Liming wax on scoop and sides

Everest clay pigment

Everest blue pigment

Everest brown pigment

Naples yellow light hue

Dark rottenstone

Distress gilding with 0000 wire wool

Burnish outer high point

Seal gilding and paint finish with Lascaux Fixativ spray

My new neighbours...

10 hour day on a sunday!!??

Zak the attack dog!

 

My Mum and Sister popped in today to look at my holiday photos. Zak the attack dog has fun running round the workshop.

super busy weekend

I've had a really busy weekend making gilded frames, 10 gilded and painted and 3 just painted, all needed for 9.30am Monday 23rd August. Because of this order I have not had a chance to start building benches or storage units yet, but hopefully will be able to start this next week, the piles of MDF and chipboard 8'x4' sheets have made useful work surfaces though.

Devon holiday snaps

  

My beautiful wife and I have been on holiday for the last week, I went back to work today, now its time for some serious work on the workshop and to try and catch-up with framing jobs. We went to Hele bay in Devon, and in the nearest town of Ilfracombe we found a picture framers, I was very happy about this, as you can see from the photo, unfortunately it was closed on Saturdays. It was a nice looking shop, large and spacious, with lots of light from the big windows.

Wood for benches and storage

Most of the panels and timber for the work benches and other fixtures, and the partition wall are all here now and waiting to be put to use.

Estate security

 

The workshop is slowly taking shape, I have a big delivery of sheet material and timber coming on Monday which will be used to make three work benches, a large storage racking unit for frames and framed pictures, a display unit for photo and ready-made frames, drying racks, sample displays, and various other workshop fittings. 

Everything is now in, well, almost everything, I still have various other pieces of equipment and fittings in storage but I will give it a few days before collecting them. The next most important job is to get the partition wall fitted, this will be where the roof beam is in the photo above. One side will be for sawing, sanding, spraying, and generally more messy jobs, and the other side will be for mount cutting, mounting, and assembly.  

Frame corner samples

This pile of bin bags is all my frame corner samples, waiting to be sorted out and put on the walls in the reception room, realistically I can't see this being done for 2 or 3 weeks.

Laying the floor

  

I finished laying the laminate flooring in the reception room today, I still need to fit the edging moulding that goes against the skirting and the doorway threshold strips, but at least I can now start organising the layout. 

I have had some problems with the BT phone line and broadband today, which is a nuisance as it has been working fine since my number was moved on Friday, but hopefully that will be sorted tomorrow. I also went to see a sign writer on the industrial estate about getting my signs done. The rest of the day has been spent moving the last of the equipment (saved the heavy stuff until last!) from the old workshop, cleaning it up and painting ready for the new tenant to move in on Thursday. 

5 full days of moving and lifting, and I am worn out and ready for a holiday. The only event more exciting than the new workshop is seeing my jet-setting wife on 11th August, having not seen her for far to long.

Zak in the bin

My mum and Zak have been helping with the move.