Blog

Drawing – Scaling up an image using a grid

Using a grid to scale up a drawingToday Jane tells us about a drawing technique which some people swear by. Using a grid to scale up an image. She...

Plaster figure restoration

Restoring a plaster figureThis plaster figure was brought in broken, tatty and badly worn. We have filled it, glued it and re-painted it so it looks...

Colour Wheels

Why use a colour wheel? This week Jane takes a quick look at colour wheels. Depending on the types of art you create and your 'eye for colour' you...

Box Framing

Always made to order...We often get asked about box frames, mostly if we sell them ready made. We don’t sell ready made box frames but we can make a...

Antique chair restoration

Restoring antique chairsRemember a time when people could visit shops? Well, back when that was still acceptable, a client brought in a couple of...

Watercolour pans vs tubes

Painting with Watercolours Jane said "we get asked about watercolour pans a lot in the shop by people thinking about taking up Watercolour painting,...

Griffin oil colour

Fast drying oil colours Jane has continued her look at oil paints last with this review of the Griffin Alkyd oil colour range. Last week Jane looked...

Water soluble oils

Oil paints without the smells Jane has looked at Oil Paints previously. Here she is looking at the Winsor & Newton Artisan Oil Paints. What is...

More about Posca Pens

More about Posca Pens This week Jane looks in detail at the different sizes and uses of the best selling Posca Pens.Earlier I did a blog on...

Paper for pastels and chalk drawing

Paper surfaces - for Pastels and Chalk Drawing This week Jane continues her look at paper surfaces - this time covering Pastels and Chalk. See her...

Making a Christmas card – part 2

Putting the embossed and die cut pieces togetherIn the previous article I went through the process to emboss the card and die-cut the pieces to make...

Making a Christmas Card

Step by step using a die cutting machineIʼm going to show you how to make this Christmas card using a die cutting machine. I get asked a lot for...

Framing a Dream Catcher!

Jane gets her Dream Catcher framedThis is my dream catcher, my husband bought it for me years ago from an Navajo Indian reservation in Arizona USA....

Paper for Acrylics and Oils

Paper surfaces - for Acrylics and Oils This week Jane looks at paper for Acrylics and for Oils. This follows from the previous review of paper for...

Recent Framing Jobs

Between lockdowns the Gadsbys framing team were busy. Here is a small sample of the types of jobs which they did. From Framed Rugby Shirts through...

Paper for watercolours

Paper surfaces - for watercolours This week Jane starts to look in more detail at paper surfaces for different media. First up is paper for...

Acrylic paints for artists

Looking at Acrylics Jane recently looked at brushes best suited to acrylic paints. This article reviews the acrylic paint ranges themselves from:...

Brushes for oil paints

Brushes - part 3 - for Oil Paints ...brushes for the thicker medium of oil paints Oil paints are thinker than other painting mediums - Jane...

Brushes – part 2 – Acrylics

Brushes - part 2 - for Acrylics ...the benefits of a good selection of brushes Jane continues her look at brushes - moving on to brushes for...

Watercolour brushes

Brushes ...overlooked by beginners, treasured by experience! Jane starts a mini series on brushes. This time she is looking at the ranges of...

Framing Vellum Indentures

Framing Indentures We frame a lot of unusual items and these came in fitting that description. There were 4 of them and they are indentures which I...

Picture frame regilded and oil painting cleaned

Regilding a picture frame Sometimes the frame of a picture carries as much sentimental value as the oil painting it holds. So, while we are...

Restoring an Oil Painting

Restoring an oil painting - a multi skilled jobRestoring an oil painting requires a range of skills and techniques. The first task is to identify...

Multiple double mounts

Cutting a multiple double mountSometimes we have a multiple double mount to cut for a customer. To explain what this is our framer took pictures of...