A Step-by-Step Process to Select Picture Frame Matting

One of the most challenging aspects of framing is selecting a suitable mat for a given piece of art. Not only are mats available in a variety of conservation grades and pretty much any desired width, but they are also in available in hundreds of colors which adds yet another dimension of complexity to the framing process. We have written about matting grades and dimension choices in past articles, so now it is time to tackle matting colors. What follows is some practical, hands-on advice regarding the selection of a matting color for a custom framing project. More than just cover the fundamentals, I thought it would be useful to provide a specific process that can be used to find just the right mat color. The result is the information below. By following the 5 steps described, anyone can select an aesthetically pleasing mat color quickly and stress-free.

Revision, Revision, Revision
To begin, mat selection should not be seen as a process in which a framer picks the perfect mat color right off the bat. Instead, just like any form of art, it is a process that goes through various drafts before arriving at a final output. Keep in mind that not even the most experienced framer will be able to immediately pick the mat color that works best with a given artwork. Quite the opposite actually. Custom picture framers will deliberately experiment with different colors and shades to see how they work in relationship to the artwork. If an acceptable mat color is chosen after the first attempt, the seasoned framer will know to continue experimenting with other options to compare the various color to one another. You should do the same: after you have a first mating color selected, experiment to see if others work. Finding this first color is what follows.

Step 1 - "Go White"
With so many matting colors to choose from, many online framing customers freeze when confronted with so many choices. But before any panic sets in, we have a ridiculously simple suggestion to make: choose a neutral white mat and see what the artwork looks like with it. Something like Crescent Select Off White (CS9807) would be a great place to start.

If by chance you find that this particular shade of white does not work for your project, try something whiter such as White Glove (CS9500). If this brighter mat does not work either, try to go with something creamier such as Half & Half (CS9509). After you go through this, most likely you will have found a color that works for your artwork. Congratulations, you have found at least 1 color that works, but likely you see that 2 out of the 3 will work just fine.

For illustration purposes, consider figure 1a, and figure 2a. The first is of an Orca whale and the second is Mount Rainier. Both are shown in a white mat Off White (CS9807) and while not particularly unique, both mat options are perfectly suitable and could be chosen without any hesitation.

When deciding upon mat colors, you may find it helpful to take a few steps backward so you can view the artwork from a distance, the way it will be displayed on the wall. All too often framing projects are completed by staring at the artwork from a very close distance and this hinders our ability to take in everything as a whole. In other words, and please excuse the pun, it prohibits us from seeing "the big picture".

For full disclosure, the fact that a white mat that works with your artwork is not a concept we can take any credit for. White is a neutral color and therefore white mats complement most any visual art medium. Consider that in many photography competitions, the entry rules stipulate that only a white matting may be used. This is so the judges make apples-to-apples comparisons when comparing artwork and are not influenced by matting colors.

Step 2 - Finding Color
Through the process of selecting a suitable white mat, you will have begun to observe the artwork. In this step, we want to do this in even more detail. Look at the colors used in your piece and try to come up with some adjectives to describe what you are seeing. For example, Orca in Figure 1A could be described as, ‘majestic’, ‘powerful’, ‘ocean life’, ‘free’, or even 'cold'. Likewise, figure 2 of Mount Rainier could be described as ‘glowing’, ‘evening’, or ‘autumn’.

The objective here is to take a moment to absorb what lies before us. It may sound silly and even crazy, but we want to feel the artwork. Our objective here is a process of familiarity. Think of it as getting acquainted with the artwork.

As you go through this acquaintance process, next task is to find the artwork's dominant color. As the name suggests, a work's color dominance is the color that is strongest in the piece. It can be found in several ways. It could be a color or hue that is used most often in the artwork. Alternatively, it could be a bright bold color that is used sparingly throughout the work but catches the viewer's eye, or it can be the color that is sharpest in the piece. To be fair, color dominance takes a bit of work to spot, but by taking the time to familiarize yourself with the artwork as described above, it can be found without too much difficulty. If you would like to read more about this subject, we have written a whole article about color dominance here.

Once you have determined the dominant color, see if either it, or a darker or lighter shade of it works with the piece. Sometimes the dominant color will work superbly and sometimes it will just blend in too much and hide the artwork. This is something that is easily spotted. Once again we encourage you to do this from a distance.

If you find a colored mat that you like, you now have 2 mats to choose from: one white and one with color. Congratulations! Check out the photos in figure 3A and 3B to see an example of a colored mat. Both of them would work just fine.

This step 2 may be somewhat controversial because framers typically do not bother with it and instead go right to this step. Perhaps with years of experience we could all do this. I certainly can not.  And in the meantime I find it worthwhile to slow down and familiarize myself with the artwork I am framing.


Step 3 - The Opposite of Dominance:
In this third step, we see if the dominant color's opposite will look aesthetically pleasing. A color’s ‘opposite’ is the color found on the opposite side of the dominant color on a color wheel. If you think of the color wheel as a clock, it would be the color that is 6 hours away. We have written about the color wheel in the past and you can refresh your knowledge or learn more about it by clicking here.

Remember that mat selection is a process of trial and error. Don’t feel bad if you try something and it does not work or even clashes with the artwork. Keep experimenting. And remember that you always have your white mat to fall back on should no other color work out.

Most likely when you find something that works, your spontaneous reaction will be something like “I like that”.

Step 4 - Go Black, All Black
No, we are not rooting for New Zealand’s rugby team, but suggesting that you try using a black mat. Like white, black is a neutral color (technically neither are colors, but we won't get into that here), but instead of brighten and "lift up" the artwork, black tends to "sink" the piece. Black has a seriousness to it.

What does black do to fo your artwork? Does it focus the viewer's eye more than the other colors or does it hide the subject? Take a look. What do you think? Remember, this is your framing project and what matters most is that you like it.

In our example, check out the black and white Orca with a black mat in figure 4A. (The mat is actually the same shade as the black on the whale so it looks better in real life). What about Mount Rainier in figure 4B. Personally, I don't care for this so much and prefer figure 1A. Nevertheless, this is still a worthwhile experiment because seeing Mount Rainier with this mat makes the previous mats look that much better. Remember that there is often not single right answer when it comes to matting. The best mat is the one that you choose.

Step 5 - Experiment with Shades and Tints
We are almost done. If you would like to do something more than white or black but are finding that the selected color mat is not quite right, you can try either a shade or a tint of that color. Here some basics color theory will be helpful:

• A shade is made by adding white to a color


• A tint is made by adding black to a color 

Given the above bullets, start by finding mats that are a lighter color than the current color that you found in either step 2 or 3. This is no more difficult than imagining what the color would look like if it has more white pigments in it. Add lighter and lighter shades of white to your dominant color to see how it affects the way your artwork presents itself.  Next, do the same thing except add black pigments to your matting. What are the results? Have you found anything that looks great?

Conclusion
Most likely after you complete all of these steps you will have two to three mats that could work for you. Fantastic! You see, mat selection is not all that tough once you break it down into manageable steps. If you happen to be purchasing picture frames online, at this point you could either make up your mind and make a final selection or you could order free samples to see how the mats will look in real life.

If you would like the Picture Frame Guys to send you up to 5 free matting samples, just send us an email with the mat color and name. For example "Half & Half (C9509)". Click on the links for a list of the Crescent Select as well as the Crescent Ragmat mat colors which we offer. Send your request to CustomerService[at]pictureframeguys[dot]com.

Do you know someone who would find this article useful? If so, please share this article with your friends. And as always...Happy Framing!