E-Tip: Art of Framing: Ellen Dreibelbis


                              




Ohio native Ellen Dreibelbis found her passion in the move to San Francisco, where she encountered people from a far greater variety of places and ethnic backgrounds than she ever had growing up.  Thirty years later she is still fascinated by the diversity of the human figure, the wisdom of the human face and the universality of human emotion.  Through the careful depiction of the individual, often in solitary contemplation, she returns to these themes over and over in an attempt to show how we are both one and many at the same time.  Most recently she has been producing figurative oils of Native American and Tibetan people.  “I am always noticing how the light falls on a person’s head, even if I’m in the hardware store or on a bus.”  Dreibelbis rejects the notion of style.  “If I have to, I say I paint in an abstract realist style because there is an abstraction of form I pay attention to, but my style is really a reaction to my subject, which is always unique.”

Working mainly in chalk pastels and oils, Dreibelbis often paints on toned paper (one with color), beginning with the darker shades as a base and finishing with the lightest tones.  She likes chalk for its intensity and because she can “weave” it together to create original hues.  She likes oil for its flexibility.  “Once it’s dry, you can paint right over it, totally obliterating an earlier color or image, and try something new.”

Dreibelbis studied painting and design at Ohio State University under another artist in American Frame’s gallery, Robert Mazur.  “I recently won the same award he did a few years ago, first place in The Artist’s Magazine’s “Over 60” competition.”  Dreibelbis has won many prestigious awards and been selected to appear in many juried exhibitions, including most recently the 2011 Pastels USA exhibition at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, California and the 2010 Pastel Society of America International Exhibition at the National Arts Club in New York.  She maintains a website at http://ellen-dreibelbis.artistwebsites.com.

For our Featured Artist series Dreibelbis chose to frame “Sunday Morning,” the piece which captured The Artist’s Magazine’s attention.  A figurative depiction of a solitary woman having her morning coffee and paging through the pages of an art book, “Sunday Morning” has been very well received.  “I think it’s because it speaks to many people, who have a passion they can only pursue on the weekends, and how special that time becomes.”

“Sunday Morning” is a pastel done on purple-gray paper.  Dreibelbis allowed the paper to show through in the background.  Though it remains dominated by dark and middle tones, she points out that “The light areas design a path of light through the piece.”  We’ve framed “Sunday Morning” three ways: for meditative calm, playful currency and textured elegance.


The Art of Framing

Thrifty Ease-
The warm mat and dark, narrow frame in neutral colors complement the image’s complex jewel tones and its meditative mood but do not upstage it as something more dramatically darker might.


Print: Sunday Morning (16" X 20 7/8")
Metal Frame: Standard- Florentine Black S156 (19 3/4" X 24 5/8")
Top Mat: Brownstone (cream core) CB701 (19 3/4" X 24 5/8") Rectangle Top:2" Sides:2" Bottom:2"
Acrylic: Standard Acrylic AAS (19 3/4" X 24 5/8")
Mounting Board: Standard MTBS (19 3/4" X 24 5/8")

Framing Treatment Total: $ 44.54  


Gallery Ready-
Here an unexpected purple frame and matching middle mat bring a contemporary and playful feel, while the top and bottom mats in neutral colors keep the treatment consistent with the mood of the art.  The mats are arranged so that the most neutral mat is the most dominant, being widest and on top, and the most colorful mat is least dominant, positioned in the middle and cut very narrow.  The bottom mat, wider than the middle but more narrow than the top mat, creates a bright break around the image so that the purple mat doesn’t fade into the purple haze behind the figure.
 


Print: Sunday Morning  (16" X 20 7/8")
Metal Frame: Standard Plus Three - Purple Haze SP3233 (23 3/4" X 28 5/8")
Top Mat: Urban CS9595 (23 3/4" X 28 5/8") Rectangle Top:3" Sides:3" Bottom:3"
Middle Mat: Purple Mountain CS9564 (23 3/4" X 28 5/8") Rectangle Top:3 3/8" Sides:3 3/8" Bottom:3 3/8"
Bottom Mat: Coconut Milk CS9805 (23 3/4" X 28 5/8") Rectangle Top:4" Sides:4" Bottom:4"
Acrylic: Standard Acrylic AAS (23 3/4" X 28 5/8")
Mounting Board: Archival MTBA (23 3/4" X 28 5/8")

Framing Treatment Total: $ 105.59 plus FREE shipping.


Fine Design-
Metallic frames act as neutrals, coordinating with any hue in the art, but they also bring an elegance, brightness and originality more classic neutrals don’t.  This feel is ideal for “Sunday Morning,” a modern portraiture done in jewel tones.  The Palladio metallic frame here is lightly distressed silver leaf, so it reinforces the art’s evocation of texture via striation.  (Note how the chalk pastel medium create striations which add movement to the quiet, dark image.) The frame is subtly echoed by the silver bottom mat, which creates a break so that the lighter top mat doesn’t contrast too sharply with the art’s hues.


Print: Sunday Morning (16 X 20 7/8)
Wood Frame: Palladio - Silver Leaf 61942 (21 3/4 X 26 5/8)
Top Mat: Wheat 8742 (21 3/4 X 26 5/8) Rectangle Top:2 1/2" Sides:2 1/2" Bottom:2 1/2"
Bottom Mat: Grey 8747 (21 3/4 X 26 5/8) Rectangle Top:3" Sides:3" Bottom:3"
Acrylic: UV Non-Glare Acrylic AAUVNG (21 3/4 X 26 5/8)
Mounting Board: Archival Mounting Board MTBA (21 3/4 X 26 5/8)

Framing Treatment Total: $ 159.08 plus FREE shipping.





Start Shopping:

> Nielsen® Metal Picture Frames > Wood Picture Frames > Art & Photo Printing



Wholesale Pricing, 2-Day Service & Free Shipping...
That's why we're
Love your art. Frame it right®