framing – Art Bern

A few months ago I finished this triptych, now called “GOING GOING GONE”, but it sat around in the studio waiting for framing inspiration. Well, that inspiration finally showed up in the form of cork foam board, an orphaned 12×26″ frame, and a whole lot of JB Weld epoxy glue.

If you’re interested in the details of this artwork, follow the link to the post in the above paragraph. Otherwise, read on to learn about the challenging world of custom framing, at home, with nary a YouTube DIY video to be had.

Challenge #1: How does one attach wood blocks to a frame without backing? I was headed down the path of cutting a custom wood back, but then I stumbled across a 1/4” thick foam board while looking for balsa wood as a lighter alternative to plywood. I also happen to have a matt cutter, which is much more finger friendly than my rotary saw, which is buried somewhere in the garage.

Challenge #2: How to attach foam board to frame? Also known as “glue or screw?” I was leaning screws, but as I was digging through my massive drawer of miscellaneous art crap, I came across a tube of JB Weld, an epoxy glue that’s stickier than a wet booger. Despite having been used once in the past, probably more than 3 years ago, it still worked!

Challenge #3: What was the best way to affix the wood blocks to the newly added foam core backing? See aforementioned sticky booger solution. But, the trickiest part was ensuring the 3 blocks, all of which are different sizes, were lined up properly. I’m positive there’s a better way to do this, but I opted to use a center string and blue tape at right angles to ensure the blocks were glued in the right spot.

Surprisingly, it worked out! I used the cork side of the foam board so I didn’t have to paint the white side, and I kinda liked the light brown coloring, which looked like a porter or amber beer. The best part, which my wife pointed out, was that by using the cork side for the backing, it was similar to a coaster bottom… like for a cold pint of beer… get it?

This piece will likely be added to my solo show, “Something for Everyone”, at Kerbey Lane Cafe in San Marcos, Texas, available for the reasonable price of 10 cases of Guinness or (512) Pecan Porter.

Thanks for reading!

March 12, 2025March 13, 2025 by Bern Categories: Art Tips, Mixed Media, still lifeTags: art, creativity, drawing, framing, guinness, painting, pecan porter, poetry, still life, triptych, writing Leave a comment

Framing artwork used to be a dreaded task, but over the years I’ve come to really enjoy it. This is especially true as we start 2020 because I recently had 4 dog related pieces accepted to an Austin art show at Art for the People gallery called Celebrities – Pet & People Portraits. Future posts this week will provide more details about the show and the inspiration behind the pieces, but I wanted to share some creative custom framing ideas I used with 2 of the pieces in the show.

One of the troubling issues with framing is the commitment, secondarily the cost and complexity. The process of “properly” framing a painting often involves sealing it inside a frame in a way that makes getting it out an ordeal. When I hang finished art in my home, I can easily get bored of the frame after a year, or simply want to change the art that’s in the frame. To solve this problem, I came up with a Velcro based solution that works great with small pieces in floater frames, whereby you affix the piece with Velcro instead of glue or some other fixative, which allows you to swap out pieces in the same frame. This is handy for your personal art at home, gallery shows or events.

The steps to frame using Velcro, a process I’ve trademarked as “framecro“, are very simple, fast, and inexpensive. Let me know if you opt to framecro any of your paintings; improvements to the process are always welcome.

Most Velcro types will work, but the Command line of snap-type from 3M is what I prefer. They market it as a picture hanging velcro because it snaps together very tightly, but you can still pull it apart easily.
Cut 4 twin sets of velcro rectangles, which means you have 8 total rectangles of Velcro. These should be relatively small and easily fit into the 4 corners of the frame.
Affix the velcro to the corners of the frame and the corners of the back of the artwork.
Align the artwork and press it onto the frame.

You’re done! If you want to swap out a piece, just pop out the existing piece of art and press in a new one that has Velcro in it’s corners.