| Author | Message | ||
  marie |
Great idea, Linda! I will have to try it. | ||
Linda |
Have some fun with this method: The starving artist's set up! Begin by going to the thrift stores and looking at the pictures and picture frames. You'll find mostly standard size frames. Purchase !only! those pictures or frames that include double matting. Size your works accordingly, and color your works to suit the surroundings. You will find yourself with amazing pieces you never expected to turn out so nicely, and you may kick yourself out of a few ruts in the process. All this, and you save money on framing, too! | ||
marie |
Also, Chamberlain did mostly plein air work, which would account for the smaller format. | ||
marie |
Chamberlain, who is one of my favorite watercolorists, harks back to the nineteenth century with small format paintings and a muted palette. Sargent also did relatively small watercolors. I don't think he ever did anything larger than a half sheet. I think that the large formats and bright palettes are a late 20th century phenomenon. | ||
Eric |
On the subject of sheet sizes, while looking through a book by Trevor Chamberlain, I noticed that most of his paintings are 7" x 10", some are 10" x 14" and very few larger than that. That seems a little odd to me, since most artist-instructors seem to paint everything 15" x 22" or a full sheet, 22" x 30". I'm just wondering out loud, I guess. | ||
Suzy |
I mat EVERYTHING standard. If high volume sales are your goal, standard is the only way to go. The majority of buyers are quite checked into that. Of course there are always exceptions but as Henry J Ford said. "Create a product for the commom man at a price he can afford." Nothing makes a print more afforadable than the ability to use standard framing. When you get so famous that buyers are clamoring at your feet you can paint any size you please and they will buy it but until then..... | ||
jandrle@speakeasy.net |
I print my work on a laser printer and stick to small sizes. Have considered an ink jet to do large work but haven't developed a market for them. So the standard sizes I do are 8 x 10, 11 x 14 and 16 x 20, the largest I can print on a laser. When I sell them I tell folks what they are, and that they fit right into a frame from Target, Michael's and won't need an expensive frame job. I sell them in mats. I will say that I am getting less and less interested in selling prints and am painting more odd sized work. I can't explain why exactly. One problem with prints is inventory. Especially if you frame them to sell. Eventually bins pile up everywhere. That is what has happened to me anyway. I have a friend who offset prints almost all of her paintings. She converted her entire garage to climate controlled storage and still doesn't have enough room for them all. Jane | ||
Patrice |
Thank you, Marie. I'll take a look at those standard 'outside' sizes and think about how much would be left with a 2 and 1/2 and/or a 3 inch mat and make adjustments accordingly. Patrice | ||
marie |
I usually try to mat a 1/4 sheet (11x15) to fit a 16x20 frame. I crop an inch off a 1/2 sheet (to 15x21) and then mat it to fit a 22x28 frame. | ||
Patrice |
Thanks for your reply, Jane. I do want to print my work. I not only used to work in a frame shop, I used to own one, but I've forgotten what the 'standard' mat size is. Seems to me that we added 2 and 1/2 inches around three sides and an extra 1/4 or 1/2 inch on the bottom. But then there's the liner mat. That might add more or it might be taken up by the original size. Also it seems that I've seen larger watercolors framed with much wider mats. I'm new to painting watercolors. I'm accustomed to working within 'standard' sizes for oil paintings most of the time and only beginning to think about what I should do to ensure that my prints won't cost an arm and a leg to frame. Any advice or suggestions will be most welcome! :o) Patrice | ||
jandrle |
Personally, I do both. I keep standard frames and mats and paint to that size. I also order some frames, mats and plexi in odd sizes and shapes for interest and inspiration. The squares and long horizontals and verticals can be very striking and also force creativity for me. The problem with the odd sizes and shapes is that they are hard to print and sell as matted prints. If you aren't planning to print your work I would suggest determining the size and shape based on the subject matter rather than making the subject conform to size. It is more fun and certainly more inspiring. Jane | ||
Patrice |
I've been working in 1/4 sheet and 1/2 sheet and full sheets of standard size watercolor paper. It occurs to me that perhaps I should be working in a slightly smaller size to accomodate matting and then fit inside standard frame sizes. What do y'all do? Do you have specific sizes set up and specific matting sizes that you recommend? thanks, Patrice |
