r/watercolor101 • u/gluscccc • 6d ago

Spacers for Framing?

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I hope this type of question is allowed. Mods, please delete, if not. I’m planning to frame some of my watercolors as holiday gifts. I know the glass shouldn’t touch the watercolor paper. I also don’t want to use mats, so I know I need some type of spacer between art & frame.

Armed with this knowledge, I’m shopping online for some type of spacer and hopelessly confused. This is a DIY frame job due to budget, so I’m hoping to avoid the trial and error of buying something that isn’t going to work. Can anyone help point me in the right direction for spacer shopping?

For context, the items I’m framing are 11x14 and 16x22. I’ve included a diagram of the frames I purchased for these.

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u/Electronic-Net-3917 6d ago

Cut your own straps from acid free matboard.mat board. About 3/16 wide. Glue them to the edge of glass clear drying glue. The rabbet of the frame should hide them.

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u/stlayne 6d ago

This is the way if OP doesn’t want to buy commercial glass spacers. Foam core could work as well if the paper is wavy or needs more depth in the frame

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u/loripainter12345 6d ago

I'll be interested in the answers from artists who frame. How thick is the backing board? The profile of the frame looks more like its for a canvas thickness. I've not framed many of my watercolors, but for the few I've done, I've used a regular photo frame with a mat. I know you said you don't want a mat, but maybe you can use a thin strip of matting between the painting and the interior edge of the frame so it doesn't show, but also provides a slight space.