Specialty Mat Cuts+++

Want to add drama and art to an otherwise simple frame job? Consider specialty mat cuts that enhance the overall appearance. Here are some specialty mat cuts I'm particularly proud of. The artwork is a collection by the artist Shag. Actually, his name full name is Josh Agle, a painter, illustrator and designer working in Southern California (Shag is a combination of the last two letters of his first name teamed with the first two letters of his last name). His original intent was to become a commercial illustrator, but his fate changed with the demand for his originals by galleries and collectors in all over Japan, Europe, Australia and the United States.



This piece is Drunken Cleric (a limited edition lithograph by Shag). The customer came in with a photo of this piece framed with a similar unusual mat cut. He asked if Corners could reproduce the unusual mat cut in his photo, but still show off the original signature by Shag. Because we are unsure of the copyrights on the original photo we opted not to post it here.

This particular customer opted for a more classic, contemporary black frame. However this piece could easily have been framed in bamboo, rattan, or carved wood to accentuate the tropical bar theme even more.

The bamboo border mat cut goes great with the Tiki Bar theme of the image - framing the piece nicely. Specialty mat cuts continue the artwork outward making them appear larger. Care must be taken not to overshadow or distract from the original art. The best mat designs lead you back into the original paintings and accentuate details you may have missed at first glance. For example, the thin bright orange mat used in the border accentuates the orange in the piece, drawing the viewer's eyes to the blow-fish lamp, the bar decoration, and of course the drunken cleric passed out on the floor - the point of focus for Shag's painting.



After noticing the focal point, the viewer is free to look for other details at their leisure. I Love these two guy's expressions at the sight of the cleric - everyone's a critic...



Of course the customer's request was met, and the signature shows clearly.



This customer was so impressed with the mat cuts, he brought in two more Shag's for similar treatments. This time, he gave me even more creative freedom.

The next is a poster titled The Pirates Hobbies.



In this design, pieces of the pipe and wall accents in Shag's underwater pressurized room seemed logical choices to use in the mat design. Through the use of repetitious cutouts around the image, the scene is the focal point - even though the matting commands attention. It is the consistency of the pattern that frames the piece.



With so many cutouts or details, too many (or too bright) mat colors would have been distracting to the viewer. In this particular instance, it is the simple black frame that leads the viewer back into the painting, and more specifically to the pirate and his cat.



This was an unsigned print, so I matted it directly to the image. I was happy for this because the white border would have distracted (or disrupted) from the continuation of the background in the painting through the matting.

Of course I was sure to leave the printed Shag signature showing... and added my own "X" signature to the mats - in the form of crossbones. Of course the skull and bones were a compliment to the one on the pirate's hat (Shag-style).

The third piece is another limited edition titled: Melancholy Werewolf.



Again, using the image as inspiration, I chose to continue the story of the artwork on to the mat. My original thought was to use the tree for inspiration, with branches and leaves in similar tones. While this would have worked fine, and reiterated the forest theme, it's Shags characters that are so unique. I found myself mesmerized by the glowing orange eyes of the blackbirds and wanted to draw attention to them. The thin orange mat would not work here, glowing orange footprints would command too much attention away from the birds eyes in the image. The solution was to create a glowing eye of our own as part of the image.



I love how Shag painted these birds eyeballing the steak!



Surely this piece would have been fine with just little birdie footprints to frame it. In fact, adding a character to the matboard can be very distracting. The last thing a professional picture framer wants is to lead a viewer with a conflict, do you admire the artwork or the mats? Every framer knows that their job is to enhance artwork, not detract from it. In this particular case, the eye was cutout on this little bird to show its interest in the steak, even after the little stroll around the mat. Its this tiny little character trait that makes our bird part of the piece and draws the viewer back into the story of the art.



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