The Framers Forum

With the Pre-Raphaelite exibition going on at the Tate currently, thought I would post a copy of a frame made a little while ago sometimes seen around those paintings. A friend done all the carving, I gilded and finished the frame with the punched design copied from an original frame. Complements this sort of art beautifully!

Again very impressive, I take it the punch design is the scroll pattern that shows through the gold leaf, is this all done by hand or are tools made up to make the pattern. It looks very slight relief so that it gives an almost watermark impression in the gold leaf.

The design is first drawn to scale to suite the flat measurements paying particular attention to the corners. Once this is done, pressing gently with a wooden scribe, this gives a very light impression on the surface of the gold. I have made various shaped punches for this and other frame requirements, stars, flowers, different dots, diamonds, etc. I really enjoy doing this, getting myself comfortable and with a small hammer gently tapping the background which pronounces the design. A tip; Don't let the gesso dry out too much as not only will you find it more difficult but you might also find the gesso flaking off. Also important that the underlying timber is "sized" prior to gessoing. I also had linseed oil to the gesso mixture when using this technique.