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Getting ready for the annual holiday event at our studios I had a problem: how do I display my latest and largest pastel painting, Trust, without having to shell out hundreds of dollars in framing costs but keep it protected from the many visitors that will be strolling through? One swipe with a shoulder or purse (or a curious person actually touching it...yes, it has happened a couple of times and NOT by kids!) could be detrimental! My wonderful framer Jim at Museum Quality Framing in Camarillo, CA, came up with a great TEMPORARY solution: a clip frame! Since I usually place the glass directly on my finished work when framing, doing this was not a big issue for me. We did not use museum glass for this, though, but regular glass. While it did have some glare it looks worse in this photo than it does in person. I loved the contemporary frameless look and the piece drew lots of attention on the main wall of the display area of my studio. This painting is 36"x24" so framing it in my usual way with museum glass and a wood frame would have cost me hundreds of dollars. This cost me about $40! Yes, a client would have to replace this frame with a permanent one but this way they get to choose the perfect one for their environment. Caution would need to be taken when lifting the glass off the pastel to replace it, but as long as there is no sideways movement it should be just fine.  I paint on sanded paper and use a very light coating of fixative at the end so the pigment sticks to the paper very well and really does not adhere to the glass much. Now if I can only find a permanent way to frame pastels in such a sleek style! Anybody have any ideas, please leave a comment below!

Close up of the clips. There are two on each side.

The back of the frame. I used two nails in the wall to hold the string and balance the weight.