# Simple frame idea



## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

I thought you might enjoy seeing this simple frame my father made sometime in 1976 or ’77 for a painting he did of an abandoned house in the Bodie, California ghost town. He wanted the frame to match the feel of the painting so he used some wood that had been weathering in the California desert sun for many years. Ask Tom (@DesertRatTom) what the desert sun can do. I don’t recall how many years the wood was out in the weather but I believe it was from the top of wooden chest that was already about 40 years old when it was left outside.

He ripped the wood to width leaving as much of the live edge and ends as possible and then used a simple lap joint for the corners. I’m guessing he weathered the cut edges so they wouldn’t be noticeable.

Anyway, the point is you can make effective and appropriate frames for your art and photography without worrying about getting the perfect miter joint.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

yours sure is ate up w/ talent..


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Nice frame and a really nice painting. You're right about the desert sun. Out here where i live, our altitude is between 2500 and 4000 feet (and higher into the surrounding mountains. So we get really intense UV radiation. 15 year exterior paint is good for about 6-7 years. Redwood fencing that should last 20 years look like ancient dried out wood in half that time. I really like the use of lapjoints for this very rustic frame Oliver. But I'm kind of a fussy guy and like those perfect mitered corners. We keep our eyes open for weathered wood objects and use them to decorate the landscaping in the back yard. A few years ago i piled a bunch of branches up near the back fance, today, they have "evaporated." Almost nothing left of the pile today. Really amazed me how that happened. I definitely try to stay out of the sun, particularly in Summer. The picture is a late afternoon picture of the visible part of my back yard, planted mainly with native plants or plants that get by on very little water. The little shed is an insulated shack over the drip irrigation control valves, not an outhouse. My shop is just off the the left of the picture.


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

@DesertRatTom
Thanks for the photo, Tom. It brought back some great memories and I can almost smell the greasewood. Those who have never experienced it will not understand the lure of the desert. Living in the swampland of Louisiana, I've almost forgotten the crispness and beauty of the desert. Almost ... fortunately a few brain cells still carry the memories and I just have to look at my father's paintings to be transported back there.


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## marecat3 (Nov 30, 2010)

that is wonderful.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

@Gaffboat My occasionally friendly competitor asked me why I would ever move to the Mojave desert. You pegged it with your answer about the spare, crispness of the desert. Since you once lived less than 5 miles from where I am, you know how great it is to be in the cleanest air in California, surrounded by mountains with snow in winter, and rock piles like Joshua Tree National Monument's, with changing seasons and friendly people who actually talk with each other. Other than that, it is hot and dry in summer, cold and dry in the depths of winter. We live about a mile from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans home, and those two loved the place for the same reasons. If you ever get out here, I'll be happy to play host.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Oliver you inherited your talent from your father. He did a great job on that frame.


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## Barry747 (Jun 16, 2011)

Oliver, the frame certainly fits the painting perfectly, in more ways than one. I'm surprised that no one mentioned the painting itself. From what I can see, the image is small on my computer, your dad had a lot more talent than just woodworking. We now know where you got your woodworking talent from. Have you ever tried painting? If so, post some of your work. If not, why not?


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Brief item. To the far left of the picture is a large pistachio tree. This is the first year I have tried harvesting the nuts. Have a couple of pounds so far. For some reason, they're maturing late, so I have many pounds left to go. In the past I've let the ravens have them, but I studied how they harvested the nuts, and decided to keep some for myself this year. Tasty.


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