This week we had a very special bottle of champagne to frame. Alan Shearer scored 206 goals during his career at Newcastle, so 206 bottles of special Alan Shearer label Champagne were created which he signed. We put bottle number 110 into a frame, cradled in black velvet, with a signed Shearer photo and a certificate of provenance. Unfortunately the staff were so keen to get the bottle out of temptation’s way, we forgot to take a photo of it framed!

Ashley Jackson

Ashley Jackson, the well known Yorkshire artist has been a Frame House client for many years and it was nice to see him recently when he came up from Holmfirth in Yorkshire to choose frames for work going to Switzerland. Many can remember watching Ashley on live TV painting wonderful atmospheric skies with absolute ease.  Acclaimed as being the ‘Turner of the 21st Century’ Ashley is still going strong at 71, riding his Harley Davidson up to the moors to paint, looking good and eternally young at heart – best wishes from all at The Frame House. Examples can be seen at http://www.ashley-jackson.co.uk/

Claire Myers

Born and bred, so to speak, near Hexham in the Tyne Valley area of Northumberland her affinity for horses began when she got her first pony at the age of about six, and continues today. Needless to say, Claire’s favourite subject to paint is horses, and inspiration is never far away.

Her studio is the family dining table, where she paints in Acrylics which give her the depth of colour shown in her work. She is so much in demand that she has several commissions in progress simultaneously.

Her range of prints and cards is growing all the time, and can be seen on her website at www.clairemyersart.com

Her contact details are:

• Claire Myers Artist on Facebook
• E-mail: info@clairemyersart.com
• Mobile: 07591 613949

Claire does not have a studio gallery, but upcoming shows and exhibitions where work is on sale can be seen on her website.

Some examples of Claire’s work, printed by The Frame House can be seen below:

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Our in-house photographer Jamie Sproates has been busy over the last few months taking photographs of prize winning animals at Agricultural Shows, (he was a bit wary of the big horses); various charity events and fashion shoots as well as areas of outstanding natural beauty in and around Weardale and Teesdale.

Stormy Road

Jamie has developed his own unique style which really brings out the magnificent moodiness of the upper Dales.

Tranquillity

Click here to see his galleries on our website – I’m sorry some of the thumbnails are smaller than the rest, they are the same physical size and DPI as the larger ones

Frame House services include:

• Bespoke Picture Framing & Fine Art Giclée Printing.
• Providing an event/portrait photographer
• Printing, mounting and framing your own images or craftwork
• Scanning and restoring your damaged photos.
• We can show you how to take photographs with your camera -
• Photoshop and Elements one-to-one courses
• Microsoft Office software one-to-one courses
• Making special frames for 3D objects

In 2010 and again in 2011 the Frame House sponsored Shows and Exhibitions open to the public by supplying Frame House Vouchers up to a total of £75. In return the organisers mentioned The Frame House in their publicity and displayed some of our leaflets.

Frame House flyer

If you were at our local shows -
St Johns Chapel Weardale on 27th and 28th August
Wolsingham Show Weardale on 3rd and 4th September and the Wolsingham Parish Church Art Exhibition the previous week
Stanhope Show Weardale on 10th and 11th September

Frame House leaflet text

you may have seen our leaflets and banner on display

Frame House Leaflet

Please contact us if you think we may be able to sponsor your group or organisation.

Arqadia

The Luminoso Range

The link to their site is http://www.arqadia.co.uk Arqadia has reliably supplied beautifully crafted frames and mouldings at competitive prices for  the past 30 years. They have a wide range of styles and colours in their online catalogue from traditional through contemporary such as the vibrant Luminoso by  Larson Juhl

Loft Style Swept Frames

to the new Loft Style Swept Frames which meet the evolving fashions  of hanging framed art and mirrors. Environmental Care Arqadia also recognise the increased worldwide environmental concerns over wood sources and the desire for greater controls along the timber chains.  They hold PEFC Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) and FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody certifications from BM TRADA Certification Ltd. These schemes provide assurance mechanisms to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are purchasing wood produced in a sustainable way. Products carrying the FSC or PEFC labels are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. Chain of Custody certification is the unbroken path which products take from the forest to the consumer, including all stages of manufacturing, transportation and distribution.

Mainline PictureFrame Mouldings

The link to their site is http://mainlinemouldings.com Like the Frame House, Mainline Picture Frame Mouldings is a member  of the Fine Art Trade Guild and is a long established family-run company providing a professional  service to all its customers, both here in the UK and overseas. They source new and innovative products to offer a wide ranging and original selection of quality picture frame mouldings. Mainline is an environmentally aware company that  endeavours to minimise the impact of their activities on the environment through the materials and products they promote.

Polcore Picture Frame Mouldings

Mainline is the registered owner of the Polcore brand. This highly specified and design-led extruded moulding is made from recycled polystyrene and provides an environmentally friendly alternative to wood moulding. Easy to cut and join, Polcore mouldings look great, are economically priced and are available in over 1000 different designs and finishes. Recycled polystyrene picture frame mouldings have a skin of HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) – known as ‘virgin’ – on the outside of the profile which provides a smooth surface on which to finish. The core of the moulding is made up of about 70% recycled polystyrene and 30% virgin polystyrene. Recycled polystyrene is made up of waste products from mainly two sources:  the electronics industry and plastic packaging mainly from the food industry It contains NO detectable formaldehyde or carcinogenic substances and is free from lead (as can be proved by lead testing). The manufacturing process is clean. Mainline do not use spray paints, but do use decorative transfer films and recycle all their waste extruded product. Therefore the material that constitutes recycled polystyrene mouldings broadly conserves the use of the earth’s natural raw materials by using those that have been recycled. Wood Mainline’s ranges of wood products are from companies that purchase their timber from sustainable sources and reforestation projects. Other ecological considerations include the use of water based paints and varnishes.

D & J Simons & Sons

The link to their site is http://www.djsimons.co.uk/ Simons is a long established family business that has been in existence since Davis Simons emigrated from his native Russia in 1900 and now the fourth generation has joined the company to ensure the family commitment and service to their  customers continues well into the 21st century . In the 1980’s Simon’s sister company Emafyl was established with its production of extruded polystyrene and in 1996 received the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement.

In a perfect world artists would give The Frame House absolutely flat, unbuckled images, with matching measurements on opposite sides for Fine Art printing.

In reality, very few images are ‘square’ and most of them, especially stretched canvases and water colours, are buckled and have irregular sides.

When we scan images they have to be absolutely flat to the glass of the scanner so the light reflects back in the same way all over the image. Works larger than the scanner have to be scanned in areas which mean they are moved over the glass several times.

Stretched canvas tends to be pressed closer to the glass over the stretching bars, so we have to put something on the back of the areas between these to hold the looser canvas against the glass; next the whole image is covered with cloths to stop light getting in round the edges; finally a further relatively heavy, rigid cover is used to compensate for any buckling.

This is why it is so important that artists allow sufficient time for their media to dry, (longer than you think) and that ‘smudgy’ media such as charcoal, pastels, pencils etc are treated to protect the surface. We take great care of the originals left for scanning and print-proofing but realistically they have to be able to withstand handling and storage in our folders.

Recently we scanned in several oils for a novice artist, and to our horror found after completing the scan that the last image had recently been retouched.  The paint had a ‘skin’ so felt dry to the touch, but when we scanned the image it left smears on the glass of our (expensive) scanner and consequently all over the irreplaceable original painting.  A potential double disaster!  Fortunately one of our specialist staff was able to remove the unwanted paint, but we added a ‘term of condition’ to our order forms to try to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Work Submitted for Fine Art Printing and Framing

Work submitted to The Frame House will be handled and stored with care, but it is the responsibility of the client to ensure that the media used are totally dry and in the case of friable media such as pastels, charcoal  and pencil, treated to resist smudging and smearing during the scanning or framing processes.

Georgina signing books at The Frame House

We have recently been commissioned by the author Georgina Jack to proof and print the delightful pictures from her book ‘Calendar Pigs’, release date 25 May 2011.  Georgina has already had well attended book signings, and we are sure the book will become very popular as it re-awakens many memories of childhood and the life in war-time Northumbrian countryside.

Georgina Jack took her Honours Degree in Fine Art and Education Diploma at Durham University and became Head of Art in a Grammar School and later Senior Mistress. During the Second World War she was evacuated for two years to a remote corner of Northumberland, and Calendar Pigs is loosely based on her experiences.

‘Calendar Pigs is available from Amazon ,Tesco, W.H.Smith, Book Depository and even Emporium Books in Australia

Product details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Book Guild Ltd (25 May 2011)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 1846245672
• ISBN-13: 978-1846245671

Book Synopsis

When eight-year-old Emma is whisked away from her home and family in the war-torn south of England to the seemingly safe but remote Northumbrian farm of her aunt and uncle, she has no idea what is in store for her in this bleak, isolated spot.

Heartbroken at being separated from her mother, and fearful of her vindictive and bad-tempered aunt, Emma shadows her roguish but kindly uncle. She has to help on the farm, coping with a range of animals from the usual hens and pet lambs to aggressive geese and a killer ferret! Wartime comforts are scarce, and she has several alarming encounters with Nazi spies. Each month she artistically doctors the pig portraits on the kitchen calendar, using them as a means to mark off the time until she believes her mother will be coming back for her. But is she correct in this belief, or will she be left languishing far from her family and home for ever?

This touching and poignant story, told through Emma’s guileless eyes, is at once funny, moving, anger-provoking and heart-warming.

Contact

Gina’s website is  http://calendarpigs.com/

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A recent page from the Comments Book

5th Sept                     Ben Haslam                                Thanks for the support & service. All the best
Sept                             Shelly Whitfield                      Always fantastic service.
27th Sept 2011          Kathleen Smith                       Thank you, an excellent service 10/10.
20/10/2011                David Welsh                              Amazing support
2/ 2/2011                    Pablo                                               Totally, totally amazing place
6/ 7/2011                   Lee Blake                                     I like the frames
6/ 7/2011                   Julie Scott                                  “Amazingly helpful”, most fabulous people. X
7/ 7/2011                   Jan Reed                                       Excellent and helpful service, I’ve come here for years!
10/ 2/2012                Margaret Sproat                     Excellent Service
10/ 2/ 2012              Stephen Ward                            Excellent & friendly service as always
18/ 4/2012               Gaynor Davison                        Very professional service, beautiful work, would recommend this team to anyone. We will be back for more. Thank you.

David Welsh is having an exhibition of landscape, seascape, still life and figurative works at Lumley Castle, County Durham, on Sunday 6th November 2011

For more information and examples of David’s work, visit his website at www.davidwelsh-artist.com or mail him at dbwelsh@aol.com

David wants others who come in contact with his work to feel they are part of him and his observation of the country he has grown to love.

‘Growing up in the North East of England with the beautiful landscape of Northumberland, and its impressive coastline on my doorstep, gave me a passion for painting my own countryside of Northumbria & the Scottish Borders.

And yet ….I have a passion and romance for France that has become unshakeable.’

‘I want my paintings to have evidence of energy and yet to show the peace God wants us all to have as we look upon his wonderful creation.’

The light throughout Provence,  where he now lives, exaggerates shadow and enhances colour, inspiring artists down through the years. 

David’s work is as sensual and aromatic as the country he is portraying. Morning mists, shimmering light, iridescent smells and intensity of heat are reflected in his paintings.

David is paints in his own distinctive style  the same brightness and purity of landscape  that have drawn many renowned artists to capture its special qualities on canvas

His paintings have been sold throughout the world and now hang in many distinguished homes in :

France, Italy, USA, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Africa, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand……..not forgetting the Islands and mainland of Great Britain.

For more information and examples of David’s work, visit his website at www.davidwelsh-artist.com or mail him at dbwelsh@aol.com

Below are examples of images printed by the Frame House (the first image is an example of a ‘canvas wrap’).

Click on the thumbnails to see a larger version of the image

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Chris was born in Felixstowe, Suffolk, in 1954 and has been painting watercolours professionally since 1980.  Many of his paintings are in public and private collections in this country and abroad.

He now lives in  Weardale, Co. Durham and specialises in landscape, seascape and architecture.

Chris draws inspiration from the  area surrounding his home in the Pennines, and from the Lake District , especially from the effects of light and changing weather so much a feature of Weardale  and Teesdale where much of his work is based.

He finds watercolour the perfect medium for his subjects, but he also works in monoprint, a printmaking technique whose spontaneity lends itself to capturing a fleeting instant of light.

His gallery, Mouncey Fine Art, www.mounceyfineart.co.uk is situated in Horsemarket in the historic town of Barnard Castle’s main shopping area.

Contact

Tel: (01833) 695073

Email:

info@chrismouncey.co.uk
info@mounceyfineart.co.uk

Address:

31b Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8LX

Click on the thumbnails to see some of the images printed for Chris by The Frame House.

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