Frame with shadow gap

Picture frame made of American walnut and with shadow gap

My wife is an enthusiastic painter and sometimes I make the frames for her pictures.

The pictured example of a simple frame with a shadow gap is easy to produce and provides an excellent but humble impression of the picture in the centre.

From my perspective, the best optical effect is given with a shadow gap of approx. 5mm. A gap of 5mm is big enough to hide the inaccuracy between the picture and the frame but small enough to prevent a view into the gap.

The various steps of the production are pictured chronologically. The corners of the framework are reinforced with a triangular piece of plywood. The background of the shadow gap is painted in black which leads to the impression that the picture is floating in the frame.

The American walnut is oiled. The dark color of the wood provides a beautiful contrast to a white wall.

At the end of the process, I just laid the picture into the frame and centred it with small wooden pieces before I fixed it on the back side with a couple of screws. The humble and simple frame puts the picture into the centre and not the other way round.