In an effort to clean up all of the art that is "propped" on the floor in the office, I am taking a hard look at each piece and deciding if I want to use it, store it, or get rid of it.
This piece of original art is one I wanted to keep, but the mat and frame have never been my first choice. I have always loved street scenes and this one looks to be from the 1940's which is very in keeping with our home. Because of the expense involved in making these changes, I decided to see what I could come up with myself.
Going with one of the brighter less prominent colors in the painting, I decided to pull out the orange tones. I picked up a sample bottle of Martha Stewart paint at Home Depot and used my sponge applicator to recolor the mat.
I also gave the frame a coat of gold, but might revisit that because the gold wasn't quite bright enough for me.
Please excuse the paint on the walls. There seems to be a lot of this around here at the moment.
Changes will be made on the blog today, so if you pop in and things look a little weird, please be patient. Hopefully I will have it fixed up in no time.
Easy, cheap and pretty! My kind of project :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, my friend! I never thought to just paint the mat. I have several pictures that need that economical and easy treatment. Thanks for this USEFUL post!
ReplyDeletexo Yvonne
Wow, that persimmon color really makes the colors in the artwork pop! What a great idea!!
ReplyDeleteClaudia
Renne, I love that Persimmon color. It is beautiful and it really makes the frame pop. I think the gold frame works well with the color but I also think this mat color would work well with other colors too.
ReplyDeleteAngie @ Linen & Verbena
Wow! I never would have thought to paint the frame and mat, it makes such a difference in the look of the painting!
ReplyDeleteI've painted picture mounts before. It makes a huuuuuge difference, doesn't it? Especially in the Persimmon colour you chose. It really picks up colours in the painting.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
Sarahx
Wow! That looks amazing! It's incredible what changing the color of the mat did for the artwork. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteRene, love it!!! It looks 10x better!
ReplyDeleteReally great idea and that was a great color choice. Made such a difference. I really had not thought to paint a mat...but it so simple and makes so much sense. Thanks for the great idea!
ReplyDeleteRene, that looks great. Never thought of painting the mat board.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great change. I love that picture and you really made it stand out by painting the matte. It's perfect. Martina
ReplyDeleteMuch better. Now you can actually see the painting.
ReplyDeleteLove how it made the picture pop! Great color choice, can't wait to see where you put this picture!
ReplyDeleteGreat update! I recently tried the same thing but mine was a disaster instead of a success like yours. I used a shiny gold and it was plain old ugly. I think I'll get a paint sample like you did and give it one more shot.
ReplyDeleteRene, isn't amazing what a difference the matting can make? Try Rub-n-Buff for your frame....so many colors and they can add such dimension to the frame color. Your picture looks great.
ReplyDeleteRene, this is genius! What a big difference a little change makes! I changed out the matting (covered it with inexpensive linen) of a print recently and it made a world of difference. Check it out:
ReplyDeletehttp://meetmeinphiladelphia.blogspot.com/2011/01/revitalizing-framed-artwork.html
Love what you did with mat, I'll have to keep it in mind, it looks brand new!
ReplyDeleteRondell
That's a great tip! I'll be digging through my stack of art this weekend (between basketball games, of course).
ReplyDeletetotally changes the look of the whole piece! great idea!
ReplyDeleteWow - what difference! It looks great!
ReplyDeleteHoly cow that looks like a completely different picture! I love the color you chose Rene, it really makes the most of the picture. I never thought of that, very good idea!!! Love Martha Stewart sample paints!
ReplyDeleteThe new mat color made the colors in the painting POP! It looks like a new piece! Great job =)
ReplyDeleteGreat minds! I have a sample of persimmon red for little projects too. The mat now looks great with the picture!
ReplyDeletesuch a great idea! love how budget friendly that project is, too! it looks great!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you did. Changing out that mat color was a wonderful idea & it just makes the picture pop.
ReplyDeleteCAS
wow...that turned out great! what a simple fix!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and great project. Its is a very pretty picture! Can't wait to see what paint colors you choose for the walls!
ReplyDeleteWendy
Such an impact, Rene! I say a piece at goodwill today of a boat that I thought would look great in my son's room and I didn't get it because of the mat...Okay, I'm going to run back up there later!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to feature your etsy shop on my blog!
Great idea and what a difference it made! Good luck with the new blog changes!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI honestly cannot believe how "current" re-painting the mat that wonderful orange color made the art look.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have thought to do that. Like ever.
Ok - I don't want to, like, be all weird and gush over it - but geesh Louise, what a difference.
A little paint....a miracle!
ReplyDeleteI really like this, Rene. What a great idea. I love your print, too!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jane
Wow -- how clever!!! And a great transformation!
ReplyDeleteYou are so smart, I would never have thought to do this and it looks so good!
ReplyDeleteKat :)
I have just the picture to try this on. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a difference the persimmon color makes. It really makes the colors in the painting pop. Nice transformation.
ReplyDeleteThe color you chose is fantastic. I would love to see a wall-full of that color.
ReplyDeleteI tried to comment
ReplyDeleteon your latest post,
but blogger said I
couldn't do it, so
here I am. Love your
new blog look! It
all looks fab on my
lap-top, including the
bar under the pics.
Have a wonderful
weekend, Rene!
xx Suzanne
I guess I had the same problem Suzanne had, it wouldn't let me leave a comment on your newest post.
ReplyDeleteYou are so creative! I never would have thought to paint the mat. Is the mat a fabric or is it paper. I love the color and also the frame. You are brilliant!
Funny seeing Martha Stewart's name on the can. I was taking pictures at an antique shop yesterday and they were telling me that Martha had been in just a day or so before.
I also love your new blog look!
Amazing. I love how the piece looks so striking now! Gotta love paint!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great change! I love the way your frame turned out. The mat looks so much better.
ReplyDeleteIt looks amazing now. I hated the print before and now I really like it. Thanks for the inspiration. I'm off to find a mat to paint.....
ReplyDeleteTasha
momofsbandeg@yahoo.com
I'm so glad you kept the print. Your choice of mat color really makes the print pop. I never would have thought to paint a mat.
ReplyDelete