When we were in Xian, China in May we went to the Buddhist Temple Park to see the Wild Goose Pagoda.
There was a shop at the park where paintings done by farmers were being sold. We learned later that these farmer's paintings are pretty famous.
Art said he'd let me choose. It was very, very difficult. I loved the vibrant colors and primitive design.
I finally chose a painting with children because... well... I am a retired first grade teacher after all.
I have a feeling it's not what Art would have chosen. He would have selected something with more trees.
When we got home we considered our options on how to get it framed. I checked into prices and found that the mat alone would cost about $40 to $50. Sheesh! That's without the frame! The painting cost us $32 US dollars. So we laid it flat in the guest room and forgot about it.
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Then we happened to be at Panda Express here in Hawaii and saw several of these farmer type paintings and loved how they look.
What to do, what to do? Does anybody in Hawaii know a reasonable place to get this framed so that it doesn't cost five times as much? Sheesh!
Art said he'd let me choose. It was very, very difficult. I loved the vibrant colors and primitive design.
I finally chose a painting with children because... well... I am a retired first grade teacher after all.
I have a feeling it's not what Art would have chosen. He would have selected something with more trees.
When we got home we considered our options on how to get it framed. I checked into prices and found that the mat alone would cost about $40 to $50. Sheesh! That's without the frame! The painting cost us $32 US dollars. So we laid it flat in the guest room and forgot about it.
.JPG)
Then we happened to be at Panda Express here in Hawaii and saw several of these farmer type paintings and loved how they look.
What to do, what to do? Does anybody in Hawaii know a reasonable place to get this framed so that it doesn't cost five times as much? Sheesh!
Aloha. In my experience with framing here and on the mainland, it has never been cheap unfortunately. Right now on the island, the only place I know to deal with when it comes to framing are Pictures Plus in Ward Center and at the NEX, but they are not cheap. :/
ReplyDeleteHi Len! Thank you so much for your comment. It's such fun to hear from people in the islands. I've been to the NEX. They give you a teeny 5% military discount, but I'm wondering if they originally charge you 5% higher too. I went to the Pearl City Highlands Pictures Plus and they said the mat would cost about $25. When I went to the NEX, they said it would cost about $35-$40. We'll have to bring our actual painting in and see how they price it and then take it to the other store and compare what they tell us.
DeleteAloha Kay! You're welcome and thanks for comments on my blog also! Yes, the store at the NEX is actually our last resort to use, but it was all we had to go to for getting some work-related framing and paintings taken care of. My neighbor had a customer service issue with them, because from the work side they served us well.
Delete...I meant to say it was unfortunate my neighbor had a customer service issue with them because from the work side they served us well.
DeleteWe bought three "farmer paintings" in Xian, also. We framed them ourselves. I've often wondered if they're genuine Farmer Paintings, though. (I've wondered that about everything we purchased in China! As a tour guide at the Great Wall told us, some antiques (for instance) are thousands of years old, some were created yesterday.)
ReplyDeleteI wish we could frame it ourselves. In Illinois there were at least three places where we could frame our own artwork; not in Hawaii though.
DeleteALSO... now that you mention it, we've wondered the same thing about many of our purchases that were supposed to be guaranteed because they were taking us to government controlled places. Things seemed to be very OVERpriced at the places they were taking us.
DeleteThe frame becomes part of the art and increases the value of the piece so you want it to be nicely done. Yours was a beautiful choice by the way:)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Granny! It is an investment.
DeleteKnowing how creative you are, I think you should tackle it yourself.
ReplyDeleteThat is one cool picture by the way.
I don't have any advice, but I share the same dilemma with a sketch I bought in Paris. I have been looking in secondhand shops, hoping to find something satisfactory. I love the paintings, especially the one you chose.
ReplyDeleteIts very pricey framing art, I frame many paintings I do, some I have professionally done and others I buy framed prints, disassemble them and slip the (my) painting in.Maybe you could fine a frame at a yard sale or on sale at another store but this peice of art really does deserve a roper framing, its beautiful and could through time be very valuable, the framing will only add to it.
ReplyDeleteI never go to actual framing places to get my stuff done. I just buy simple and cheap ones and do it myself
ReplyDeleteI think it's a really lovely painting. Who cares whether it's authentic or not? I agree that the frame will increase the value of the painting. I have one I never framed that I got in Russia, and it's now warped and probably unsalvageable. Go for it! :-)
ReplyDeleteIf you like it, do. Laurie's advice is spot on. I had a wonderful story from a framer friend, years ago, when I'd saved enough to frame some of the children's pictures for their parents and grandparents. Carolyn told me of a woman for whom she framed the children's pictures. The woman said it came from her food budget; her husband couldn't tell if he was eating standing rib or pot roast.
ReplyDeletelove your photo-it's worth the cost of the frame to display it...splurge! lol...
ReplyDeleteNowadays I always try to buy artwork that will fit into a standard-sized frame :-)
ReplyDeleteYou can try a couple of different things to find cheap frames. The first is to go to a thrift store or garage sale. Tale a tape measure and the size of the frame you need. It might take a while, but you'll find something the right size. If you don't like the color of the wood or finish of the frame a can of spray paint will take care of the problem. If you don't want to do it that way you can buy modular frame pieces at craft stores (like Michaels or Hobby Lobby). Put them together, then have a piece of glass cut at a glass store.
Whenever we buy a painting or print overseas the size is never U.S. standard. Sigh. I have a $10 (U.S. exchange) poster from the Netherlands that cost us way over 10 times as much to frame.
DeleteIt is a wonderful painting, well worth framing. I'm guessing between you and Art that you will come up with a good solution that won't cost too much.
ReplyDeleteYes often the framing can be more expensive than the painting! I hope you do get it done.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely memento from your trip to China. I hope you find somewhere reasonable to get it framed. I have had a few done and always cringed at the price but now I see it on the wall I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteGood choice...bet it was hard to choose just one picture. I don't buy frames except for photos so can't offer any suggestions. In keeping with the theme of children maybe there are informal frames that do the job of preserving the condition of the art piece yet display it whimsically for less.
ReplyDeleteL...w
It was definitely hard, but we knew the framing was going to be costly so we forced ourselves to only buy one.
DeleteFraming costs so much. Although I never buy expensive artwork, I always spend a fortune to get it framed. Guess it works out in the end. A couple of hundred dollars for a lovely piece on my wall that I enjoy for years. It's worth it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for these great tips! I have a piece of calligraphy that deserves it.
ReplyDeleteEveryone loses hairs, Kay! Aloha
It is possible to buy mat board and a simple mat cutter. At least we have done that. then you can buy an inexpensive frame with glass. Also, the matting does not have to be as wide as the one at Panda Express. If you can find a frame, then cut the mat to fit it and still set off the painting.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking at the Arts & Crafts type stores and they don't carry mat boards, especially the larger size we need. What is a mat cutter? Is that like a box cutter or exacto knife? I don't have that steady a hand, I'm afraid.
DeleteBeautiful choice of art.
ReplyDeleteTry the Walmart/K-mart stores. They have "size-it-yourself" frame sections, then you put it together. They also have many sizes of poster frames with a backing Masonite board. I used one of those for a weird size poster, and put a "mat" of colored paper on the edge margins, then placed the poster on top of it, then the clear plastic cover of the poster frame kit.
I had one of my parent's Hawaii prints reframed ("Hawaiian Splendor" by Anthony Casay.) Ouch! But the professional did a wonderful job, even creating the opening on the back to see the artist's 2nd signature and info, along with a light bracket.
There's always the mathematical approach: cost of trip + time + restraint to buy only a few key souvenirs + professional knowing how to offset space the glass to preserve the art + value for offspring inheriting the art. I mark where, date, original price of my items so my kid knows the correct info years after I'm gone....DrumMajor
Thank you, DrumMajor! This is great, wonderful advice. You're right about the "value" of the art. We'll have a professional do it. Sigh...
DeleteLove that photo, it's beautiful! You and Art are so creative and such a great team, I'll bet he could have this framed in no time if he set his mind to it. My baby son does it all the time with his art work, makes it look so easy. I know it's not easy-peasy, but...
ReplyDeleteArt can do it!
Framing is expensive. I have several works of art that are worth less than their frames. That excludes my grandchildren's art...of course. Dianne
ReplyDelete