Matting panels & paper oil paintings

Matting paper and panels can be incredibly simple. #1. Create your work. #2. Take your work to a frame shop and have them professionally mat it. They can even install it in a frame of your choice. The problem with this, for me, is that I am a small business that struggles to maintain a good flow of revenue, and professional framing services can be quite expensive. These are some of my methods for making your work more presentable while keeping costs low.

I have nothing against framers, they are often a necessity in our business. I feel that framing is best left to those who have a direct connection to where the work will eventually be installed. Sometimes that person is me. Regardless of where the work may end up, I want to make it as presentable and easy to display as possible at a cost I can afford. I create many of my paintings on flat panel and paper. For both presentation and protection I mount and mat my work for sale.

The main tools and materials that I use for matting are fairly easy to come by, but may take a bit of searching to find them. Craft or "Xacto" knives with plenty of replacement blades and a good cutting mat can easily be found at craft stores along with different types of board.  The acid free masking tapes, framers tape, or pre-glued canvas or bookbinding tape can be a bit more difficult to track down. I like to support my local businesses, but sometimes online retailers are the quickest, easiest way to find products. 

There are four types of paintings that I mat. I'll start with the smallest and simplest, my "Plein Air Postcards." These are small enough that they don't need any backing material for support. I use acid-free masking on top and bottom. This tape is easily removable and doesn't leave much residue or discoloration. I figure these will be re-framed or used inside another mat. I don't sell them for much, so I don't want to decrease what little profit margin I have investing in extra materials that may just be tossed in the bin.

The challenge with my Polaroid paintings was in retaining the format while making them easy to frame and display. Since these were a photo format I use photo corners on a backing mat, then tape the mat to a larger mat. Since the inner mat has some weight to it I use framers tape on the top to ensure they won't slip or drop down after framing. Since the focus is the smaller painting I use a basic 600gsm Triplex board with straight cut edges for the exterior mat. The interior mat is an inexpensive 1.5mm "Duet" board.

Anything on A5 sized paper or larger requires some kind of backing support. If I were framing these it wouldn't be an issue, but at "in person" venues I offer these for sale in a plastic sleeve. These usually have a standard mat board with good thickness and a beveled edge (requires an angle cutter) since it sits right up against the painting. I tape the top to the outside mat with framers tape. The backing board is hinged with a bookbinding or canvas tape or good adhesive acid free masking tape. 

Finally there are my small panels. The issue with these is the thickness of the panel. I start by determining what size my outer mat will be. Then I use foam board that is relatively similar to the panel thickness and cut it to the same size as the outer mat. Then I position the panel on the foam, cut around the panel, and insert  it into the opening. It's usually pretty snug, but I'd hate to see it pop out at an inopportune time so I tape it for good measure. Finally, I use a thin double sided tape to attach the foam to the outer mat.