I Can See Clearly Now?

You'd think getting a picture frame would be a simple process. Well, yes up to a point...
It's when you want something not off the shelf, is where things get tricky. I had two requirements: low-glare glass and shipping to mainland Europe. This slightly odd (but not unreasonable) combination makes for a lot of work!

Couriers hate shipping glass. The one's that do, charge lots and lots! Low glare glass comes in two flavours - etched and coated. Etched is cheap, but needs to be in contact or very close to the artwork, otherwise it 'greys' out, a bit like using tracing paper. This makes using nice mounts difficult. Coated glass is what's used in museums to cut down reflections. It's excellent, very expensive and also costly to transport.

There are two alternatives left. Coated acrylic and low glare styrene. The first is also excellent, lightweight and easier to transport, but it's even more expensive than coated glass. Styrene is etched, easy to transport and, you guessed it, limited in it's use. It also scratches more easily than acrylic.

And then there's the issue about UV protection... well, you get the picture (or not, as the case may be). I obviously need to reflect on my options...

A lot of a Pane

My large scale commissioned work (see below) also has a very large frame! It will be mounted between two sheets of glass about 3.8m wide, so the logistics are pretty tricky. The print will have to be exactly the same size and semi installed on one sheet before the cover glass can be fitted. It's all a bit scary but very exciting and I can't wait to see it finally in position!

Cracking Time

It was bound to happen, with so many frames around... I managed to break a glass cover whilst putting together a new frame. I then spent an hour trying to find a replacement acrylic cover not covered in scratches or weird little defects you sometimes get, cut it to size and get it back together again. Funny how such a simple task can end up taking up almost half a day!