An unusual greeting card makes a wonderful framed piece. The objective for this 5" x 7" card was a simple mat and frame. The 22k gold leaf, hand-laid on the bevels are the only mat design element needed. And the simple black frame doesn't have to be black matte, as this example shows.

Texas Bird Stamp print.  This particular design includes a fillet between the two rag window mats. 

About

Unique mat and frame style designs for you.

Grey Owl Framing is a one person frame shop that is owned by Russ Wood / Grey Owl.


Russ is internationally known for creating unusual and unique mat style designs for paper-based media.  This includes original art, prints, photography ,and antique cards.  And grand-kids sketches are certainly original art, and he does those too!


For his mat designs, he uses various elements including hand-painted single and variegated colored bevels, hand-inked lines via vintage ruling pens, hand-painted and unpainted decorative papers, hand-laid metal or gold leaf bevels and panels, gold lines and hand-painted or gesso laid mats.


He teaches classes on elements of decorative mat design, and has demonstrated French Mat techniques at the International framing convention (WCAF) in Las Vegas in 2015.  Russ is a member of the Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA) and also a Guild Member of the Fine Art Trade Guild, London, U.K.


Grey Owl Framing materials are of high quality,  For example most mats I use are level 1 rag or level 2 rag mats.  Rag mats are made from cotton instead of wood;  consequently they are of better quality and also more environmentally friendly.  Cotton is naturally lignin free.  Mats from wood require additional steps such as the chemical steps required to remove lignin from wood to make level 2 alpha mats.  And mats from wood fiber can never be classified at the highest quality level, level 1.