Painting Picture Frames

I am painting a few picture frames ready to frame some small works for The Corner Gallery's gifts for Christmas show.
I am using Farrow and Ball's emulsion paint. First I sand the surfaces to be painted and dust them down. I use an artist's flat brush. It takes up to 3 coats depending on the original colour of the frame. It gives a lovely velvety matt finish. The colour I am using this time is Teresa's green. It's a very soft grey green that goes well with lots of my paintings. This group will mostly be the local lavender fields painted on silk. I buy a sample pot which goes quite a long way on smallish frames.

Silk Scarf yellow and grey geometric pattern

I have used AV Vallejo black outliner and Marabu iron fix paints on a ponge 5 scarf. I worked on both ends in turn until the design met in the middle. It was not drawn out first but evolved as I worked on it.

A close up of one end

The ready hemmed blank silk scarf is attached to an Arty's Easyfix frame while being worked on.

Both are available to buy by mail order from Silkcraft click here for the frames and here for the scarves.

I find this type of frame is useful for painting scarves. I have a square frame and an extension kit. The system is flexible and can be set up for different sizes of scarf, oblong or square. The silk is held away from the frame rather than pinned onto a wooden frame which means that ready hemmed blank scarves can be painted right to the edge.

I find it a bit fiddly to set up and for work where the edges will not be seen prefer to use a wooden frame.

TIPS  Don't make the rolled edge too wet.  Be on the look out for moisture from the rolled edge moving into the drying scarf and making watermarks.

 I painted this scarf in small sections and dried them one at a time with a hair drier. This has to be watched too as one colour can spread along inside the rolled hem and get into the next section.

                                                       Finished scarf  135x35cm approx