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Articles by Chris A. Paschke, CPF GCF
CMG
"Paintings on Exotic
Materials"
April 2007
As
Americans travel the world and purchase art from around the globe the corner
frame shop and gallery is faced with many types of art they may not have ever
seen before. It's one thing to read an article about thangkas or Bo Leaf
paintings, it's another issue when one is brought in to be framed. These are not traditional oil paintings,
acrylics or watercolors, but other collectables like Mexican amate bark, and Egyptian
papyrus, or Tahitian tapa cloth paintings.
Identification First
As
with framing any art, correct identification of the project is the first stage
of design, known as definition ("Essence of Design", PFM
February 2000). In the case of painted art, knowing both the media and the
substrate greatly helps in best determining how to mount and frame that art. If the media is waterproof such as oils or
acrylics then the art may be left unglazed. If the paint in question is egg tempera or
watercolor it must be protected with acrylic or glass. Not all shiny pigments are oils or acrylics
and not all dull, matte finish, flat pigments are tempera. European watercolors are translucent by
nature, but an opaque watercolor called gouache is not, and gouache looks very
much like tempera. The substrate must
also be understood in order to know whether mounting or stretching would be
best.
Amate Bark
Amate
bark from Mexico is made by the Otomi Indians from the Amate or Jonote tree,
Mulberry tree or Xalama Limon. The bark
of the tree selected determines the color of the paper: Amate is a dark coffee
color; Mulberry is silvery beige; and Xalama is white, while all carry a very
unique texture and mottled surface (photo
1). Amate paper is dominantly used
to create cut out figures for Otomi religious ceremonies, but sheets are also sold
to artisans for paintings that depict pastoral scenes, festivals and celebrations.
Generally very inexpensive, low quality paints are used for painting these and
all art should be glazed (photo 2).
Photo
1
Amate
tree bark produced the dark coffee and creamy beige colors (L and C),
and
mulberry bark produced the silvery beige-gray (R).
Photo
2
The
paints used on this sample of coffee colored amate park is probably an egg
tempera.
Though
lightfast it is water soluble and requires glass.
Tapa Cloth
Tapa,
or tapa cloth, is also made of bark but it originates from the islands in the
South Pacific, including Tonga, Samoa, New Guinea and Hawaii. Called tapa in Tahiti; saipo in Samoa; and kapa
in Hawaii, it has been traditionally used for clothing. Today it is used mostly for painting and
special ceremonial dress. Sheets are
made by stripping outer bark from inner bark of the tree, then the inner bark
is dried in the sun prior to soaking. It is then beaten by hand into thin strips,
which are placed at perpendicular directions to each other and beaten together
into a sheet, not unlike papyrus paper (photo
3).
Photo
3
This
sample of papyrus paper clearly illustrates the cross hatched placement
of
bark strips that have been beaten together to create a sheet for painting.
This
is the format used for both tapa and papyrus.
Painted
patterns form grided squares of repetitive geometrical motifs and are colored
with traditional dyes of black and rust-brown. Unlike the surface painting on the above amate
bark, tapa patterns are imprinted on the surface of the sheet by means of
placing a raised carved pattern behind it. Colored dye is then rubbed onto the
tapa surface picking up the textured pattern placed beneath it, like a stone
rubbing. Though the finished image is
relatively durable the sheets will lose strength and fall apart if wet. Hinging would be best for these, glazing might
be optional.
Papyrus
Along
the same line of beaten tapa. is papyrus. Our current word paper derived from the word papyrus, though it is nothing like it.
Paper is produced from individual fibers screen sieved to make a full sheet,
while papyrus is made by pounding together narrowly cut strips from the stalk
of the Cyprus Papyrus plant.
After
the stalks are split, soaked and become pliable, they are cross-hatched to form
sheets which are placed between two hard absorbent barriers and pressed to dry
in the sun. Every 8 hours the absorbent
layers are replaced for 3 or 4 days until all the strips are thoroughly dry. The dry papyri sheets are then used for
paintings, letters and recording events using oils, gouache, or ink (photo 4).
Photo
4
Dry
papyri sheets are used for paintings using oil pigments, opaque gouache, or
ink.
This
sample looks and smells like gouache.
Although
ancient papyri may be pressed between sheets of glass for museum presentation
and storage, it is ill-advised for a framer to do likewise. For old, brittle or
fragmented sheets, Mylar or acrylic glazing may create too much static and
could increase potential fiber damage. Contemporary
paintings are easily obtained and in most cases inexpensive tourist art that
may be floated or matted using Japanese hinges, edge strips or corners (photo 5).
Photo
5
Contemporary
paintings are often uneven at the edges or out of square as seen in this
sample.
They
may be floated or matted using Japanese hinges, edge strips or corner pockets.
Mulberry Paper
A
surface commonly used for painting in Asia besides silk, is mulberry paper ("Making Mulberry Paper", PFM
June, 2005). Though Chinese papers are made dominantly from mulberry
bark fibers, other common fibers include rice, bamboo, and kapok. These other fibers are often added to expand
upon the properties of the basic paper fibers such as adding strength, weight,
or texture. Papers which create more
interesting textures are frequently made from linen and hemp (photo 6).
Photo
6
Heavyweight
rice paper like this sample has a toothy surface and the perfect absorbency.
Notice
the tiny flecks of bark remaining in the paper surface.
Asian artists love mulberry
papers because of their toothy surface and perfect absorbency level for gouache
(photo 7). The featured fine art painting by Mr. Liao
from Kaili, China was painted as a 53cm x36cm (14 x21") image on a sheet
of 17 x24" heavyweight, handmade rice paper (photo 8). Since most Asian pigments are inks or
watercolors the paper substrate must handle paint moisture and have a desirable
surface tooth for painting. Even on
heavyweight papers the pigments may soak well into the paper surface and nearly
bleed through to the back (photo 9).
Photo
7
Matte
finish opaque watercolors called gouache are often the pigment of choice.
These
are Marie's Gouache manufactured in Beijing, China and used by most village
artists.
Photo
8
This
fine art painting by Mr. Liao from Kaili, China was painted as a 53 x36cm (14
x21")
image
on a sheet of 17 x24" heavyweight handmade rice paper using gouache.
Photo
9
Notice
the ghosting of the pigment saturating into, almost through the mulberry paper.
Adhesives
will saturate as well and may alter the original pigment colors.
Care
should be taken when mounting fine art such as this because of high moisture
absorption. Hinges and corner pockets should be considered first over dry or
wet mounting for these. Soaked adhesives
could easily saturate into the paper as the paint did and alter the original
pigment colors on the face of the art.
Sacred Fig Leaf
Another natural substrate
popular for painting is the leaf from the Ficus religiosa, a fig tree which is
also part of the Mulberry family. Common
names for this tree include Bodhi, Bo, Pipal (peepal), Ashwattha and Sacred Fig
Tree. It is considered a scared tree in
Hinduism and Buddhism because it is said Buddha sat and meditated under it
searching for enlightenment. The tree is
native to India, southwest China, and Indochina to Vietnam.
The leaves are used as a
substrate and are often painted on depicting mythical stories, rural village
scenes, or religious themes (photo 10).
They are often attached to a backing and
covered with tissue to protect them from damage during storage, sale or general
handling. The leaves are large, about
the size of a hand, and somewhat spade shaped with a long tail. They are quite delicate and lacy (photo 11).
Photo
10
They
are often used as a painting substrate depicting mythical or religious themes.
These
two have been glued by their stem to a black backing and covered with
glassine
to protect them from damage.
Photo
11
The
leaves are large, about the size of a hand, and somewhat spade shaped with a
long tail.
They
are quite delicate, lacy and may easily be seen through.
Framing Painted Art
Once the painted art in
question has been identified as to the media and the material it has been
painted onto, then deciding how to creatively frame it while respecting it's
uniqueness is the next design stage know as creativity.
When framing a Sacred Bo leaf there are
a few options, but the two most obvious are to leave it mounted to it's thin
backing or remove it from that backing and remount it.
Removal from Backing
If removal and remounting is
chosen then the leaf must first be carefully removed from the backing (photo 12). It has been glued in a few spots along the
central stem and will need to be separated with extreme care. The leaf is supple yet delicately brittle and
may easily split or tear. Since the paint is not known it may not be safe to
use water to attempt to soften the adhesive to release the leaf from its backing.
Aggressively pulling it may easily
damage the leaf. A small ½" tear
occurred towards the pointed end of the leaf during this removal by pulling the
leaf from the backing by grasping only the larger stem end (photo 13).
Photo
12
If
removal and remounting is chosen then the leaf must first be carefully removed
from it backing.
It
has been glued in a few spots along the central stem and will need to be
separated.
Photo
13
The
leaf is soft and supple yet delicately brittle and may easily tear during
removal.
A
½" tear towards the pointed end of the leaf occurred during this removal.
It is always much safer to
remove the backing from the leaf by laying the leaf face down on a soft
surface and pulling the disposable backing from it, supporting the stem as you
go. Once removed from the backing the
few glue spots may easily be seen when the leaf is laying face down (photo 14). These may or may not be easy to remove and
perhaps leaving the slight bits of residue is the best solution. When the removed Bo leaf is turned face up it
is time to select the appropriate framing materials to best enhance and protect
this art. It was most likely purchased
on a trip to India or Indonesia and though may not have a high monetary or
intrinsic value will no doubt be emotionally valuable to your customer.
Photo
14
The
black glue spots that held it in place may easily be seen once the leaf has
been removed
and
is laying face down. These may or may not be easy t remove and perhaps leaving
the
slight
bits of residue is the best solution.
Color and Texture
Since the leaf is lacy and
may be seen through the choice of backing color and texture will be very
important to the final frame design. Selecting
a dark, probably black, background will best showcase the delicacy of the leaf
and keep the painted colors from washing out by color ghosting. When the leaf is placed over black matboard the
colors stay crisp and the leaf is easily outlined. When placed over a creme
matboard the light color bleeds through and washes out the painting (photo 15). Once black becomes the chosen color then assorted
other issues come into play. What shade
of black? Should it have a texture or be
smooth? And, how will it be attached to
the new backing?
Photo
15
The
left half is placed over a black matboard while the right half is placed over
crème
mat board which bleeds through and washes out the painting.
All
blacks are not created equal. There are
warm blacks and cool blacks. Lightfast colors and those that will fade away by
visible light even with UV glazing. The
four blacks selected for consideration were Columbe: a 400# handmade,
pigmented, lightfast, rough and knobby textured paper from Spain; Sennelier
Pastel Paper: a 300# handmade pigmented, lightfast, medium textured toothy
surfaced cool black paper from France; Bainbridge #8663 AlphaRag, pigmented,
relatively lightfast, 4ply mat board; and 60# Strathmore acid free, machine
made, charcoal paper, pigmented, lightfast, lightly textured. All were pigmented, neutral pH, lightfast, high
quality papers (photo 16).
Photo
16
Test
the leaf over assorted black backgrounds checking for color and texture
tolerance.
(left
to right) Columbe heavily textured handmade paper; Sennelier Pastel Paper with
toothy
but smooth surface and cooler black color; Bainbridge #8663 AlphaRag 4ply mat
board,
smooth
surfaced; and Strathmore AF Charcoal paper, lightweight with laid line texture.
Final Frame
The
chosen paper backing for this project was the beautifully knobby Columbe
Spanish handmade paper. The leaf was
spot mounted to the paper with Lineco neutral pH adhesive using a toothpick,
and was matted with a deep bevel, fabric wrapped, free form window mat covered with
black linen (photo 17). Watch for my June or July article featuring
this complete creative mounting project.
Photo
17
The
leaf has been spot wet mounted down it's stem to Columbe and matted with a deep
bevel,
linen
wrapped, free form window mat. Stay tuned for the entire creative mounting
project later this year.
The
problems surrounding the mounting of painted art may be minimized once the
media and substrate have been identified. Your customer may help you by knowing what
they have and where it was acquired. Do not hesitate to ask the questions
necessary to do your job...like, "what is this?" Plus in the 21st century we now have the web
and researching any project is only a click away.
END
For more articles on
digitals, design or mounting…search your desired topic under Articles by
Subject.
If
you know your specific title…check Articles by Title.
Additional information on
mounting basics is found in
The Mounting and
Laminating Handbook, Second Edition, 2002
The Mounting And
Laminating Handbook, Third Edition, 2008.
Creative Mounting, Wrapping,
And Laminating, 2000 ,
will teach you everything you
need to know about getting the most from your
dry mount equipment and
materials as an innovative frame designer.
All books are available from Designs
Ink Publishing through this website.
There is a special buy two
get one free promotion which get's you all three signed editions
for the price of $45 plus CA
sales tax and shipping.
Chris A Paschke, CPF GCF
Designs Ink
Designs Ink Publishing
785 Tucker Road, Suite G-183
Tehachapi, CA 93561
661.821.2188
info@designsinkart.com