To Mat or not to Mat!

Jun

2015

On the Bit - Thoroughbreds were once the only horse to have for dressage. These days they still present an elegant picture in the ring.

Why use a mat for your image

The purpose of a mat is to lead the viewer's eye to your carefully chosen artwork or image. A mat creates a neutral zone between the visual interest of the frame and the artwork or image itself. The colour of the mat can affect our experience of the art, either by drawing our attention to some particular colour, or by isolating the art so that nothing intrudes on the artist's original intention.

Mats also provide a functional role by separating the art from the glass to protect it. In humid conditions, the small air space keeps any condensation on the inside surface of the glass from touching the print. This prevents mildew, paper buckling and colour loss. Museum quality, acid free mats will retain their colour and protect your artwork and images for many, many years.

Premade mats in a selection of shapes and colours

A poster with a double mat. The outer mat colour picks out the colour of the dress.

The same poster and frame with a single neutral coloured mat.

Choosing the mat

The basic rules of how big a mat should be is decided by the frame. The recommendation is that the width of the mat should be at least double the width of the frame. A sturdy frame would need a wider mat than a thin frame would. Apart from that, the mat can be just about any size you want. A small size image, for instance 4" x 6" can look brilliant in an 16"x 20" mat and frame.

A few tips when selecting a mat:

Dark colours tend to contain the art, while light colours tend to expand it.
Strong colours tend to connect the artwork to the frame so that art, mat and frame feels like a single unit
A very common use of cream coloured mats is to choose two slightly different coloured creams to form a double mat.
By using more than one mat, you can create special effects with colour. The thin colour border draws attention to the image, helps create a smooth transition between the frame and the art, and ads a touch of class to the whole piece.
Single mats are often used on abstract art, contemporary art and posters. They give the artwork a sleek, clean fashionable look.
Mats should be at least as twice as wide as the frame width. In a multiple mat combination that means the top mat.
Vary the amount showing on each mat in multiple mat combinations to avoid "striping".
The top mat can be whatever colour is predominant in the art. You can also use a neutral top mat with lower mats as accent colours.
Fine art pieces look best with double mats. In traditional museum style matting, both mats are light, neutral tones. The bottom mat (showing a thin strip of colour) can be the same colour as the top mat, but is usually lighter or darker. Gold is very often used as a bottom mat with museum pieces, especially if the frame is gold.
When it all comes down to it, size and colour can be whatever you think works well for your image.

Our image ready for framing.

Single mat in a colour from the image.

Double mat with the lower, inside mat picking up on another colour in the image.

Double mat and a thin frame with bronze tones to complement the colour of mats and image.

Where to buy

Framing shops should have a good selection of different matting colours to choose from. Printing shops also carry a range of matting options. If you want to frame your artwork yourself, Target, Big W, Ikea and KMart carry a range of frames and many of them include a mat. There are also a number of online framing options easily found by searching 'picture frames'.

A thick, wide frame with double matting.

The same frame with the inside mat a neutral white.

Double mats in neutral shades.

No mats at all.