Embellish the mat with a delicate colored line? A classic framing element! Cut from colored paper, drawn or wash painted, the filigree line will increase the impact of your subjects, whether classic or contemporary.
Framing: Decorate a mat with a wash drawing and filigree lines
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Good to know
- The wash drawing (a line painted with diluted ink or watercolors) must be painted on water-resistant laminated paper.
- This technique, very demanding, requires time and calm: did you turn off the phone? Your children are at school or away on vacation?
3, 2, 1: let's go! - Choose colors that harmonize with those in your project.
Paint a line
Materials: 1 3H pencil, 1 watercolor or 1 diluted ink color of your choice, 1 wash brush, 1 water jar
- On a scrap of laminate board, make color tests, diluting more or less, until you obtain the desired shade.
- On the laminate board, trace, around the mat opening (previously cut), the frame in which you will paint the wash drawing. With the 3H pencil, make a small channel that will contain the color and keep it inside the designated frame.
- Dampen the inside of the frame with clean water, using the wash brush.
- Load your brush with sufficient color to complete the line from one end to the other. Work very quickly, starting from the corners. Repeat on the 3 other sides. Connect before allowing to dry.
Tip: Protect the outline of the area to be painted with strips of masking tape. Extend your wash with a paintbrush or create texture with a sponge or a stiff brush.
Apply ink filigree lines
- With a straight edge and pencil make reference marks around the mat opening. Space them as you like
- Paint a watercolor line, with a wash brush.
- When inking, always begin with the line closest to the mat opening, then make the others in succession.
- Position a straight edge, preferably skid-proof, on the reference line. Draw the line with a fountain or felt-tip pen, using a nib of the desired weight.
- Move the straight edge to draw the other lines.
Tip: Pens are easier to use than a traditional ruling pen, a type of adjustable nib holder (which allows you to control the width of the line). Careful, they have a short life!
Gluing a paper filigree line
- In colored paper, use a paper cutter to make four lines (two for the length and two for the width): use the dimensions of the mat opening + 2 cm extra.
- Plan their placement on the mat.
- Put a coat of white glue on a glazing plate, apply the line, then take it off.
- Glue it to the mat and cut the ends on the bias with a cutter.
Recommended product:
100% cotton Canson® Museum Backing Boards
