Barbara Schilling OPA

As artists, we tend to accumulate frames that just don’t quite work. They may have gotten damaged being shipped to a gallery, or banged around being transporting to a show. Maybe they were “ok” frames, but the finish just wasn’t up to gallery standards, or the color didn’t compliment the art.
There are many ways to bring new life back to those old frames so they can come out of storage and proudly showcase your best art!

I have been a fine art restorer for over 35 years and have learned many tricks about repairing damaged frames that I would like to share. Most artists have the ability to refurbish their own frames, but they lack the know-how. Being able to modify your frames can not only save thousands of dollars, but can open a whole new opportunity to individualize and modify frames to be one of a kind pieces that will enhance your art.

I am going to give a step-by-step guide to create a lovely, hand-rubbed, soft black finish. These same steps can be used to modify an existing finish, or be used with other base colors (not just black). So have fun and get creative!
A friend and wonderful artist, Connie Kuhnle, has used some beautiful, soft, greyed colors for her plein air landscapes. One of my favorites is her antiqued mustard yellow frame on a white and yellow farmhouse scene…sheer perfection!!

I often use antiquing and waxing to add interest to a newly purchased frame that just doesn’t quite have the richness I desire. It is a fairly quick and simple step that can make a remarkable difference.

Frame Makeover

Supply list for warm black antique finish:

1. Black paint — I use semi gloss spray enamel, but any good quality, black acrylic enamel paint will work. You can use a brush-on, although you may find that you have some texture of the brush strokes in the finish. They may not be objectionable, depending on the finish you want.
2. Red paint — (optional)…same as the black. Used to create a red undertone.
3. Fine steel wool
4. Fine 280 grit sandpaper
5. Antiquing stain…raw umber oil paint will work, as will acrylic. you can also purchase a stain, like Minwax, in a dark walnut color.
6. Rottenstone
7. Wax or polish for wood (I like “Bison” Black ebony best)
8. Hammer with a claw side
9. Polyurethane wood finish, semi-gloss, brush or spray

If an antique white frame is desired, you will need white paint in place of black. This same finish works beautifully with a color as well.

1. Lightly sand original finish to cut the gloss a little and allow for better adhesion of the new paint.
2. Pound the frame casually, bouncing the claw-side of the hammer over the surface to create even (but not too uniform) scars and indentations if you want a more antique look.
3. If red undertone is desired, spray (or brush) on red paint. Allow to dry as per instructions on the paint.
4. Lightly rub with steel wool
5. Spray (or brush) on black enamel and allow to dry.
6. Use sandpaper on edges and across the surface to allow some red to show through and give a “worn” look to the finish. It is going to look best if you have fairly even streaking throughout the frame. If the streaking is not even, the frame will look splotchy.
7. Apply raw umber antiquing with a wide brush and wipe with a soft rag, paper towel, or cheesecloth to remove some, but not all, of the antiquing. Allow stain to remain in the crevices as well as the indentations that you made. Allow to dry.
8. Spray or brush with polyurethane finish to seal. Allow to dry.
9. Apply polishing wax and allow it to dry, then buff to a nice hand-rubbed luster.
10. Dust lightly with rottenstone…especially in crevices and detailing of frame. Buff again.

While the written steps may appear time consuming, they really are not. It is important to give each of the finish layers time to dry, so from start to finish, it will take a couple of days, but actual working time on the frame shouldn’t be more than an hour or two. With practice, you will find it easier and easier to achieve the results you are after and start adding your own variations to create one of a kind finishes!

I’ve had some requests to post some of my processes so I am going to do a step-by-step of this painting. The teakettle is an antique given to me by an old friend…I wish I knew the story of it, I’ve never seen another one like it. I hope you enjoy the information on my technique(s)!
No two paintings are ever approached or completed in exactly the same way. I think it is very important to allow the energy to flow naturally and sometimes that may take a course during a painting that you didn’t originally plan. I think that is not only ok..I think that is necessary if your painting is going to find life. While the “rules” to painting are absolutely necessary to learning how to create a pleasant and believable work of art, it is with practice that you can learn to bend and remake some of those rules. That is when an artist truly begins to find their own voice. That is an evolution that must take place or the artist is simply mimicking that which has already been said.
There are as many visions for a painting as there are artists to paint it. The following process is simply my vision.
Let me begin with my palette. The colors I choose are very important for the technique I use. I love the combination of transparent and opaque and there are two things you must have to get that effect:

1. Oil primed linen (I use Centurion oil primed. I stretch my own canvases so I purchase it by the roll. It is also available prestretched. I find that Jerry’s Artarama has some reasonable prices)
2. Transparent Pigments. I have certain colors and certain brands that I cannot paint without.

Most of my colors are Rembrandt unless otherwise specified (The brand is important because colors and transparency can vary a lot from one to another)

Rembrandt transparent pigments;

• transparent oxide red
• transparent oxide yellow
• transparent yellow light
• olive green
• transparent oxide brown

other “must have” transparent colors that I do not have a preferred brand:

• alizarin crimson permanent (make sure you are getting one that is permanent, the older alizarin crimsons would fade with time)
• ultramarine blue
• quinacridone rose
• viridian green

These are my initial layout and block-in colors. I do not use any opaque pigments at this point.
I do not use all these colors for every painting it depends on the color harmony or local color of the objects for each painting.

Opaque pigments;

• Titanium white (I prefer Rembrandt, but use others too) Any time you add white to a color it starts becoming more opaque…the more white the more opaque.
• cadmium lemon yellow
• cadmium yellow medium
• cadmium red light
• yellow ochre
• cobalt blue
• dioxazine purple (sometimes)
• burnt sienna

Mineral spirits is my primary brush rinse and thinner although I may use some liquin as I progress to the final stages of the painting.
I like to keep my brushes sharp (chisel edged). I use almost all Silver Bristlon Brights or angled (these are a little harder to find) I like a semi-stiff bristle. If I want to “scrub out” a larger area I will use a natural bristle bright as they are stiffer and tend to be more durable for that rough treatment.
It is hard to keep brushes sharp for long and I do replace them every couple of months.
I learned a technique from Daniel Keys for putting a folded cardstock over the tip and securing with a bulldog clip. It does help but you have to do it carefully or you can really mess up the bristles!

Ok..lets start painting!!