Logan Team System Mountcutters - January 2011 special offer!

Framing can be an expensive business, whether you are framing photography or your own artwork for an exhibition, or you have a special picture you want to frame nicely and give as a gift...

If you do your own framing you will probably have noticed - as I have - how expensive (yet essential for a professional finish) the card mounts are.

So... here is the solution - cut your own mounts!

The tricky thing about cutting your own mounts is getting that lovely 45 degree angle on the cut - a small detail that makes all the difference. Logan mountcutters are specially designed to cut this angle, and enable you to produce professional, unlimited mounts to your own size and specification, for a fraction of the price it would cost to buy ready-made.

I bought a Logan Team System Mountcutter (24") myself a few months ago, as I do a lot of framing and was becoming frustrated by the amount I was spending on mounts. (I hate paying for something when I think I can do it myself!) I have found it to be an excellent purchase and well worth the money - in fact it has definately saved me money over time.

The system comes in 2 parts - the ruler and the blade. The ruler is a very sturdy, metal 24" that can also be used for general cutting. On one side it has a groove that the blade holder fits into. To cut your mount, you simply measure out the size of the hole you wish to cut, mark the mountboard on the back of the card and line up the mark you have made with the special mark on the blade. The blade is spring-mounted, so you push the blade down firmly with your thumb and run the blade along the length of the line to make the cut. Do this 4 times, one for each side of the rectangle you are cutting out, and hey presto - done!

I was a bit nervous when I first used my mountcutter, as I thought it would be quite difficult to master, but it really wasn't - in fact I was surprised how easy it was. So long as you are precise with your measurements and careful with your cuts, you should achieve perfect results. One little note - watch the corners, you may need to push the blade 1mm further than the end of your marked line to ensure your cuts meet at the corners.

RRP £54.95 but currently on offer at Chromos for £39.95! (We also sell the mountboard in a range of colours, A1, £3.55 per sheet).
Grab one while you can!
(reviewed by Lydia)

Fragonard Artist's Quality Linen Canvas by Pebeo - canvas of the month!

Pebeo Artist's quality Fragonard Linen Canvas is one of the loveliest and best quality readymade canvases we supply. They are made with 340gsm 100% linen canvas fabric, stretched onto a professional quality frame - providing a very sturdy, 'weighty' product that very rarely warps or curves. The canvas is side-stapled to the frame in the traditional manner, so if left unframed these will be visible when the finished piece is hung.

The Linen canvas fabric is woven with pre-washed long fibres, which gives it its clean look and very good regularity.The Pebeo research laboratory has formulated a new type of acrylic coating, guaranteeing the stability of the canvas, good colour adhesion and total protection of the fibres. The canvases are double-primed with this coating, and can be directly painted onto without an additional layer of primer. This is a particular advantage if you prefer to work onto the lovely linen colour rather than a white surface.

At Chromos we supply these canvases in a range of 14 sizes;

- 5 square sizes:
20x20cm, 30x30cm, 40x40cm, 50x50cm and 60x60cm.

- 2 double-squares and 1 triple-square:
20x40cm, 30x60cm and 20x60cm.

- 6 traditional continental sizes of Figure 5, 6, 8 ,10, 12 & 15:

The 'figure' sizes were worked out many years ago and are traditional French standard canvas sizes. We often receive enquiries as to the actual measurements of these figure canvas dimensions.... So here they are:

Fig. 5 - 35 x 27 cm
Fig. 6 - 41 x 33 cm
Fig. 8 - 46 x 38 cm
Fig. 10 - 55 x 46 cm
Fig. 12 - 61 x 50 cm
Fig. 15 - 65 x 54 cm

Final verdict? Fragonard is definitely worth the extra expense if you are looking for a great, superior canvas upon which to create your masterpiece!

See our previous blog on Pebeo 3D Linen canvas if you are looking for a deep-edge quality linen readmade canvas.

Daler-Rowney PREMIUM - Canvas of the Month!

Available in Standard Edge or Deep Edge (3D - 3.7cm depth)

Back-stapled to allow side painting if required

Wedges provided to adjust tension in the traditional manner, if needed

Close-up of canvas texture

Daler Rowney Premium Canvas is one of our Artists' quality canvases, comparable to the Windsor & Newton canvas in terms of quality, and at the top end of our range.

These canvases have been triple-primed with an acrylic primer, so are ready to paint onto. Premium Canvases are perfect for Oil or Acrylic paint, and designed to prevent seepage through the back. They have a medium-fine texture, suitable for fine detail work or heavy texture.

Chromos offers great discounts for bulk buy of this particular canvas, you can visit our website for prices and bargains!

Dr. Ph.Martin's Hydrus Watercolour Inks

Dr.Ph. Martin's Hydrus Watercolour Inks (15ml bottles) are lightfast transparent liquid watercolour at its best.
This product delivers the same brilliance and permanency of traditional watercolour. Made from the finest artists pigments to give luminosity - these colours can also be used in technical pens for calligraphy and as an airbrush colour. The opaque Titanium White can also be mixed with colours to produce a fine gouache.

To view the colour chart you can click on this link:

http://www.globalartsupplies.co.uk/Resources/p90.pdf

Chromos customer Sue Mears, from Croyden, bought a set of Hydrus inks from us just before Christmas (they retail on our website as individual bottles, or in sets of 12). Sue has been kind enough to send us her verdict, along with a photograph of her recent painting made with the inks:

"What a revelation! I am slowly grasping the different ways in which this paint works and producing quite a different look to my work. I am a botanical artist who uses the 'normal' watercolours to produce very detailed work, so these new paints are making me think! Hope you like my sunflower. I have now started a new sunflower and I am trying to dilute the paint to produce a more delicate appearance. Great fun!"

Here is a picture of Sue's beautiful Sunflower painting: