i have this crazy idea...

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Gary
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue 14 Apr, 2009 6:40 am
Location: Singapore
Organisation: Qframing Pte Ltd
Interests: 3D modeling/rendering

i have this crazy idea...

Post by Gary »

hi guys,

i was wondering is it possible (or anyone has done it b4) that using mat stylus to create french matting on a crescent mat or any other kind of mats?
so far i done research on french matting, the method used was watercolor & then use sponge to create the french matting effect.

but then i was wondering, if i were to use watercolor on a crescent mat, the rag mat will absorb the water in, & make the mat super soft, not fit for cutting

so does anyone here have the slightest idea in doing so?

thanks
Gary
http://www.qframing.com.sg/
Im not a framer but a visualization Artist...
markw

Re: i have this crazy idea...

Post by markw »

Never clear where the line lies between French Matting and a washline mount. Ive always thought of a French Matt as a washline mount with deep bevelled aperture. The difference between the two being the deep bevel.

Having said that Ive often seen washline mounts without a deep bevel described as a French Matt and I guess this is what you describe.

The real beauty of a good line on mountboard is the way that the pigments dry. Using pens to try and recreate the effect doesn't work for a number of reasons: too accurate - too even and not lightfast. It may seem daft to say that something can be too accurate - but its the very imperfections of a hand drawn line that add to its character. Same can be said about the way the pigment dries to give a tramline effect - its the variance that gives it character.

one way that you can use the valiani to very good effect to create some spectacular washes is to reverse cut bands of board from the mount - these can then be decorated with watercolours - using any effect you wish - marbling with a sponge can be v effective. The decorated strip can then be put back into the mount - the accuracy of the valiani cut means that the strip can be accurately replaced and stuck down to present a washed panel that looks good. You could then go on to add extra pin lines by hand.

One of the effects I have used in the past is to put a very wide band of colour wash on to the board, I wanted to have a clean cut edge against this band of wash - even after drying the board for a long time - it doesnt seem to cut that well on the cmc so I went away from that approach.
Roboframer

Re: i have this crazy idea...

Post by Roboframer »

Mountboard that is unsized (that is - not coated/constructed with a diluted adhesive of some sort) is no good for washlines or single lines in anything wet ('Washline' mounts = UK speak; 'French Mats' = the same thing in US speak; 'French mounts' = deep wrapped bevels in UK speak. Confusing!)

Most mountboard (Matboard) is sized though - even rag board. To test, just lay a strip of clean water on - if it sits there in a bead, the board is sized, if it soaks in and goes blotchy - it's not.

Also - if you are doing the inlay thing from the same board - it doesn't matter if a CMC or a manual mountcutter is used - it will go back in to what it came out of perfectly, whether you cut it accurately/straight/square or not.

Where a CMC would score over a manual cutter - bar of course speed etc, would be when you cut two boards of different colours, cut inlays out of both but put the inlay from one into the space in the other.
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