A watercolor is normally done on paper and the
"paper" needs the glass and mat for protection and preservation purposes.
Mat width
is personal choice. Notice other framed work and see which appeals
to you. I like wide mats but not excessively wide.
Up to 12x16 looks good with 2 to 2 1/2 inches wide mats.
up to 16x20 can go 2 1/2 up to 3 1/2
and up to 24x36 can easily use up to a 4 inch wide mat.
Some people like to weight the bottom of the mat which means the
bottom measurement is slightly wider the top and side. This is
"old school" and some shops do not bother to do this, because it
is a little more trouble. But on a fine arts
piece the bottom should always be wider. If a piece is to be entered
into a competition the bottom should be weighted; select judges will
disqualify a piece because the mat is not properly cut.
Watercolors DO REQUIRE GLASS. You can use,
regular glass, non-glare,
UV or museum glass. I personally do not like non-glare
because it distorts and softens the image viewing quality but that is your
decision to make. A fine arts piece, original watercolor
should have
UV filtering glass. And it can be used on Prints to prevent them from
fading.
I do some of my watercolors on Gallery Wrap
canvas and I put a heavy resin glaze over them so they do not have to
be framed
with glass. |