Framing Watercolour Without Glass

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

TULIPS IN THE SPRING  4.5 x 6.5  Available

Tulips and daffodils just seem to be spring to me.   Bringing them home from the grocery store is always fun and we wait with anticipation as they open and then watch in amazement as they do their wonderful contortions while they mature and eventually fade.  Eight days is our record.  (Some may say we pushed it and really they were done sooner but . . )
I used this little arrangement as you know to run some experiments in techniques and I thought I would use the last one for the finish.  As I mentioned earlier, I am looking at framing watercolour without glass.   I have mounted my tulips on a wood cradle and then applied fixative, spray varnish and finally painted on several more coats of varnish.  It is definitely protected and ready to roll.  The big difference seems to be in the colours, they are now deeper, richer and somewhat brighter.  The cradle is kind of an interesting format to use as a substrate; one could also use a board and then mount the picture in any canvas frame.  My only concern is that my tulips will not be taken seriously in this format.   I am not finished with this and will try some of the other types of framing without glass.  Does anyone have a preference for this type of framing?

SINGLED OUT IS A WINNER!!

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Singled Out - 4.5 x 6.5 Available

   Very exciting news, I just got notification that Singled Out has been awarded an Award of Excellence at the Blossom Juried Show which is on now at the Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery on Granville Island in Vancouver, BC.
   This little piece came about after our trip to Hawaii this winter.  It is nice to go away and enjoy some warm weather but when you get home you are totally ready for spring!  I was definitely feeling that way and went hunting through my files for flowers to paint.  These little tulips really caught my eye; they just seemed to give me that warm, spring feel. 
  As you can see I started with pouring watecolours onto my paper and just letting things go.  Then I tried to ignore the colour and place my drawing onto the page.  (I find that by trying to place a flower by a certain colour just doesn’t work.)  Once I start to develop each of the flowers with paint,  the undercoating provides happy little surprises that seem to work into the petals.  The results are this wonderful combination of colour that never could have been painted in any other way.  I hope "Singled Out" gives you those feelings of spring as well on this sunny Easter Day. The show runs until April 15, so check it out when you are in the area.