As part of the great February Frame Find I scored this ornate vintage frame. I loved the layering of the (fake) gold, linen texture (also probably fake), and more (fake) gold along the innermost edge.
What I didn't like was the aged looked on the frame achieved with (or because of?) brown speckling. At first I thought some of brown speckles and grey colors inside the raised ("carved") parts of the frame were just accumulated dust or dirt that could be cleaned off, but nope, that was part of the original paint treatment.
I realize this sort of aged treatment gives the frame a softer look, and is sometimes deliberately used to good effect to show the detail of the 'carved' details on the frames - often done with glazing. This softer look is definitely less hard and shiny, but to my eyes it also made the frame look dirty and that made it distracting. So after a full cleaning it was time to get out the Antique Iridescent Gold paint and my tiny brush (yes, still the one that was chewed up by a previous roommate's cat) and get to work. After two-or-so coats of paint I'm satisfied with the lighter and brighter and glow-ier look.
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| Post-paint and sitting pretty |
The 'carved' design around the outer edge of the frame - which to me looks like apostrophes and quotes - no longer has gray color in the grooves. The inner corner rope-like detail is not so dark as before, and the brown speckles that were along the broad flat areas have been covered over. In a few spots they still add a bit of shadow from behind the paint, but I'm ok with that because it breaks up the uniformity of color and the very non-uniformity of my uneven brush strokes.
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| Corner details, from gray to glowing. |
I don't have a painting or photo to put in this frame yet, so the full reveal will have to be at some future date. Perhaps a seascape?
In the meantime, remember the transformative power of paint, and happy freestyling!