Green and Gold Picture Frame for Oil Paintings

I paint this wide picture frame in a deep bottle green and run two lines of genuine gold leaf through it: one along the sight edge, beside the artwork, and a second nearer the outer edge. The broad, almost flat frieze gives a calm, gallery-style border in which the satin depth of the green settles into the background, while the slim gold lines add a warm reflection and order the composition. It is a green and gold picture frame made for oil paintings, landscapes and portraits, for collectors who want a setting that is refined without overpowering the work. It belongs to my gilded and partially painted picture frames.

The moulding profile

I describe the profile from the artwork side outwards. It begins with a narrow rabbet, and right beside the painting runs the first and wider gold line. Beyond it spreads a broad, almost flat frieze in bottle green, rising gently towards the outside. The frieze closes in a narrow, gilded hollow (the second, finer gold line), from which the profile sweeps up in an ogee to the highest point of the moulding at its outer edge. The moulding is 100 mm wide and 50 mm deep: the frame has real presence, yet the broad flat frieze keeps its drawing quiet.

Specification

• Style: classic gallery, wide flat frieze
• Finish: satin sheen (shellac and wax), two gold lines
• Moulding width: 100 mm
• Moulding depth: 50 mm
• Rabbet: 7 mm wide, 20 mm deep
• Timber: solid, low-tannin wood used in museum and conservation work
• Corner joinery: mitred at 45 degrees, reinforced with wooden splines
• Gilding: genuine 23-karat gold leaf, water gilded, burnished with an agate stone
• Glass, backing, mat: available as a custom add-on
• Mounting and hanging: sprung clips, cord, portrait or landscape
• Use: oil paintings, landscapes, portraits; with glass, works on paper

The dimensions given are for the complete frame including the moulding, so the opening for the artwork is correspondingly smaller than the outer size. I make the frame to the measurements of your specific work, with a small technical allowance so the piece sits comfortably inside.

Which artworks and interiors it suits

Bottle green is a deep, balanced colour that holds oil paintings, landscapes, still life and botanical subjects, as well as portraits with a warmer palette. The wide frieze gives the picture room to breathe, so the frame works well with medium and larger canvases. The gold lines add a warm accent without tipping into excess, which lets the setting suit both traditional compositions and more contemporary painting.

In a room, a green and gold frame comes into its own in a study, library or dining room, on a wall in muted green, navy or warm grey. Against a neutral, light wall it does the opposite: the green becomes a clear but quiet accent, and the gold ties the frame to other finishing details in the interior.

How it is made and finished

I cut the moulding at 45 degrees and join the corners with wooden splines before finishing the surface, which gives strong, even mitres. The profile is machine-milled, while everything else is done by hand: I prime the wood, paint the frieze in bottle green, and build a multi-layer gesso and bole ground where the gilding goes. On that ground I lay the gold leaf over water, leaf by leaf, and burnish it with an agate stone to a warm gleam.

I patinate the gold lines lightly so they sit well against the depth of the green, and seal the whole frame with traditional shellac and wax. This gives the painted green a satin sheen that stands up to everyday handling. I can match the character of the frame to your painting: the gold comes in 23-karat (a warm, classic shine), 22-karat moon gold (cooler and paler) or 12-karat white gold (cool, close to silver), and the colour of the bole under the gold (red, black, yellow, green, blue or grey) shifts its tone. You can also order the same moulding in black with gold leaf.

How it differs from mass production

Ready-made frames are pressed from foil-wrapped mouldings and assembled in a factory, usually in a few fixed sizes. I make this frame one at a time, to the size of your painting, from solid wood, genuine gold leaf and natural binders. Water gilding and agate burnishing give a depth and shine that imitation cannot reach, and the splined corners keep the mitres sound for years. It is a setting with real craft and collector value, not a serial product.

Functionality

As standard I make the frame without glass, for paintings on stretchers, canvas and board. The 20 mm deep rabbet also takes thicker stretcher bars. If you prefer a spatial setting, I can make the same moulding without a rabbet, as a floating (american box) frame, in which the painting appears to hover inside the frame with a narrow gap around it. For works on paper, prints and photographs the frame can be ordered with glass and a mat.

Frequently asked questions

Is the gilding real gold?
Yes. I make both lines from genuine gold leaf, laid over water and burnished with an agate stone. As standard this is 23-karat gold; on request 22-karat moon gold or 12-karat white gold.

Does a green frame work with an oil painting or landscape?
Yes, that is what it is made for. The deep bottle green and the wide frieze quietly border oil paintings, landscapes and still life without competing with the work.

Can I order this frame in another colour?
Yes. I paint the same profile in other colours and finishes, with or without gilding. We agree the shade of green and the colour of the bole under the gold when you order.

What size can you make?
To the measurements of your painting. The calculator on the site handles formats up to 120 × 80 cm, and I make larger sizes to individual order.

Complete framing – additional options

Every frame I make can be completed with full archival and museum-quality framing: anti-reflective UV-filtering glass (four classes to choose from), acid-free museum mat board, spacers wrapped in acid-free paper and a Dibond backing. This kind of mounting protects the work from light, acids and distortion. I set out the full glass and material specification on a separate page: archival and museum framing for paintings and photographs. All components are available at extra cost, as an individual quote on request.

Mounting and hanging

I hold the painting in the frame with sprung clips that turn aside when you change the work, which makes the frame easy to handle. On request I fit permanent, screwed brass plates instead. For hanging, I attach cord as standard, in portrait or landscape orientation; a single D-ring on request.

Ordering made to measure

The base price shown on the site is the price per running metre of moulding. The perimeter of the painting is not the full length the frame needs: corners cut at 45 degrees take extra length, and the wider the moulding, the more they take. The calculator accounts for the full moulding consumption with corners and for any options you choose, so you only need to enter the dimensions of your painting to within 0.1 cm. The calculator handles formats up to 120 × 80 cm, and I make larger sizes to individual order. The lead time is 20 to 30 working days.