Fine Art Choices
When choosing art for your home, cottage or office, there are so many factors to consider, which is why I offer a number of options for each image: medium, size & frame.
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Choosing the image itself is the easy part! Often times, we simply fall in love with a piece. When it comes to where you'll hang it and if it will go well with your colour palette, you can make anything work. I've seen people change their entire colour scheme just to include a piece they love. I have, too!
Medium
The medium is what the image is printed on -- photo paper, canvas, or metal. For some, it's an easy decision. They already know if like the traditional look and feel of a print matted and framed under glass, or if they prefer the texture and depth of canvas, or the sleek, vibrant and modern look of metal art prints. If you're not sure, or need some help deciding because of where the piece will be hung, here is some more information to help you choose.
Photographic Print
The image is printed on an acid-free museum grade paper called Baryta. Baryta is known for its traditional darkroom look, offering an exceptionally smooth finish with rich, realistic colour detail, excellent black density and great image sharpness. It's a thick paper with a good weight of 310 gsm (grams per square meter) and has a luxurious satin finish.
The standard finish is to leave a 1" border surrounding the image. This will give you room to mount the image on a mat or in a frame. You can trim it to size.
It's important to note that photographic prints are not ready to hang unless you add a frame. I do offer the option to have your print professionally framed at the time of printing, but you can also purchase your own frame elsewhere, or take it to a framer. The standard options I offer through my website are classic gallery frames and come in black, espresso (dark brown) or white. When framed, they come with a 3" custom cut white mat border. Keep this in mind as you choose the size of your image. There's more information about that below.
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Gallery Wrap Canvas
The gallery wrap canvas is the most popular choice. The design is simple, it's light weight, easy to hang and maintain, and offers a view of the image free of glare.
Images are printed on 400 gsm heavy weight satin canvas cloth using archival quality inks with a semi matte finish. Once printed, the material is hand stretched and wrapped around the finest Canadian kiln dried solid wood frame 1.5" thick. The sides of the canvas mirror the outer edges of the print so the full image is visible on the front.
All canvas prints 30’’ or larger are fitted with a back stretcher bar for additional support to avoid future sagging.
Because of the texture of the canvas cloth, the image can appear softer, offering a more artistic feel. When choosing art for more humid areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens, many will go with canvas to avoid issues such as curling or rippling of photographic paper, which is more sensitive to moisture than canvas.
Canvasses come ready-to-hang, but some feel the addition of a float frame around the canvas adds a beautiful finishing touch. Float frames come in five colours: black, espresso (dark brown), white, silver (black edge with a silver face), or gold (black edge with a gold face).
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Metal Art Print
Sleek, vibrant and eye-catching, metal art prints are quickly becoming a fan favourite! Dye is infused directly into a specially coated, precision cut aluminum sheet (by a process known as dye sublimation) to create a stunning, HD aluminum panel. This art is ultra-durable, scratch, water and fade resistant, and modern. Colours are vibrant and pop off the wall.
Metal prints are the perfect choice for kitchens and bathrooms where humidity can be an issue for traditional photo paper. They also make brilliant statement pieces, which are sure to start a conversation.
Choose from a gloss (high gloss), matte (non-reflective) or satin (reduced glare) finish. Gloss is best for images placed in areas away from direct light, as they are highly reflective. Matte is non-reflective in nature and can be hung anywhere. Satin sits perfectly between the two ends of the spectrum.
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The panel comes ready-to-hang with a hidden wood mounting frame on the back, but an optional float frame around the piece may be added for a beautiful finishing touch. Float frames come in five colours: black, espresso (dark brown), white, silver (black edge with a silver face), or gold (black edge with a gold face).
Front of canvas
Back of canvas
Hang with D-rings & wire (pictured) or sawtooth
Sizes
In my opinion, size is the most important choice you will make when purchasing fine art (aside from loving the image, that is!). This will ultimately determine where you can and cannot hang the piece. For example, if you choose a piece that is 36"x24", you will not be able to hang it on a wall that is only 24" wide. That is quite obvious. What's not so obvious is hanging smaller sized art in larger spaces. For example, if your sofa is 7' long, a 12"x8" piece of art hung above it would look odd. To make smaller pieces work in larger spaces, I'd recommend clustering a number of smaller pieces together -- a grouping by theme or colour can be a great way to fill the space nicely while allowing you to showcase a number of pieces you love.
It's not always easy to understand how sizes look on a wall, so I've prepared a few different examples to give you a sense of sizes in relation to one another, as well as to common room types.
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The sizes I offer online are 12x8, 18x12, 24x16, 30x20, 36x24, 48x32, and 60x40. All measured in inches, as that's the standard unit of measure for art in North America.
These sizes are width by height because the majority of the images I offer are in landscape orientation. Why do these feel "backwards" from what you're used to? Image are commonly referred to in portrait orientation, which is height by width. So, if you are interested in any of my images that I offer in portrait orientation, you would simply "flip" these numbers (e.g. 8x12, 12x18, 16x24) to get your accurate measurements.
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I do also offer custom sizes, which are perfect for places such as halls, or above headboards. Just ask me for a quoote!
Frames
Finally, frames add a beautiful finishing touch to almost any image. I am forever amazed at how images can be transformed with the simple addition of a frame. If you are choosing a traditional photographic print, you will need to frame it prior to hanging it on your wall. And while gallery wrap canvasses and metal prints come ready to hang, adding a frame gives it a more finished and sophisticated look. Online, I offer float frames for canvasses and metal prints, but at the gallery, I also offer barn board backing for canvasses, which I absolutely love!
Photographic Print Frames
Our frames are classic gallery frames made from solid wood with a satin finish. The frame is 1.25" high and 1.5" wide and available in black, espresso (dark brown) and white. All pieces are professionally framed and finished by our Canadian partner. They include a white archival mat with a standard boarder size of 3" on each side (6" total). Please note that the mat will overlap the print by approximately 1/8" on all sides. For print sizes up to 24x36, your image will be framed under non-reflective UV art glass. For 32x48 prints, we've chosen a non-breakable acrylic glass with superior clarity. If you'd prefer regular glass, we'd be happy to accommodate. Please note that we are unable to offer traditional framed prints at sizes greater than 32x48. You may order the print and take it to a framer of your choice, or select a canvas or metal art print.
Why UV Art Glass? It has the lowest visible light reflection, precisely tuned for unparalleled clarity and colour correctness, and 70% UV protection. Available on print sizes up to 24"x36".
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For additional framing options, please contact Helen for a custom quote.
Black gallery frame
Espresso gallery frame
White gallery frame
Canvas & Metal Print Float Frames
Known as a float frame because the canvas appears to be floating inside the frame. There is no glass in front of the canvas or metal print, leaving the texture of the piece visible. Each frame is custom made from solid Canadian hardwood and finished in the colour of your choice - black, espresso (dark brown), white, silver (black edges with silver face), or gold (black edges with gold face).
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For additional framing options, please contact Helen for a custom quote.
Black float frame
Espresso float frame
Float frame close-up
