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A Frame Story

Throughout my career as an artist I have had the opportunity to learn various skills which augment the works I produce today. One of these is framing. In 1982 I had the opportunity to work as a museum prep. This came about through my sculpture teacher and eventual close friend, Mr. Lesley Posey. Mr. Posey was a retired working sculptor whose main career was as a ornamentalist. His work was mainly in the Detroit and Chicago areas in the 1920's- 1930's. I meet him in Sarasota, Florida through the art school I attended. As his student, Mr. P submitted my name to the Ringling Museum to bid on building a frame for their newly acquired painting " The Triumph of Divine Love" by Peter Paul Rubens. After winning the bid, the work began.

Ringling Museums Sarasota Florida

Frame on painting I completed

The frame was built of a wood understructure with a casted acanthus leaf ornament on the face. This frame was huge, it had to fit to a 12'x 17' painting! Upon completion and delivery of the frame, the head conservator at the museum asked if I could work on smaller frames, touching up and repairing broken frame parts. I began in a museum prep position and was trained in the basics of conservation practices in his lab. As I worked I studied all I could on the way these old frames were built.

Today in my studio the experience of my past has come full circle . The frames that I design and build are a mix of the molding classic from the past that mirror the frame profiles of the old masters of Europe. I build the frames along with my paintings and hope to marry the profiles with the subjects of the works.

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