Dissecting Mat Design

Choosing the right mats for your artwork can be a daunting task — What colors should you use? How many mats is too much, or not enough? How much should I show with each layer I choose? How wide should I go before the frame starts?

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” ― Confucius

When in doubt, go with what looks best with the work. A good rule of thumb is to never add a color in the mat design that doesn’t exist within the art: Your couch & wall color will change — let your artwork stay timeless with a neutral palette.

In this block print “Deer in Moonlight” by Michael Pancini, we used a total of four mats to create this design. Can you find all the layers? A neutral palette inspired by the paper color and ink will keep this piece looking its best for years to come and look great in almost any space. A fabric mat is great to use as your top mat as it holds a variety of textures to add interest. Solid core mats and thicker mats are useful for adding depth and to pull your eye into the piece. Finally, this piece also utilized an elongated top and bottom mat width to accentuate the vertical composition.