Dark brown, very thin interior matte; ivory larger matte; pumpkin/spice colored frame.

Wow! How old is she? That's pretty amazing.

I frame almost everything in simple black frames. They don't distract from the art itself, and when/if I want to switch art from room to room, clashing frames isn't an issue. So I would vote for a simple black frame, either wood or metal, and maybe a white/ivory mat with a second thin mat, if you want, in the orange.

How large is this picture and what is the medium? Oil, pen and ink, etc...?

It depends on the wall and the size of the piece. I agree with Tibb about the colors. But my thought was a wide dark brown mat with a cream color metal frame (you can buy and assemble them yourself).

Tibb and Lily .. Thanks so much for the great suggestions and your help!!

Sue .. Lauren will turn 18 soon, she graduates this year. Right now she's doing an internship with the Bob Timberlake Gallery. She's looking at going into biology/genetics, with a minor in art. Very much a left and right brain thinker, she's duking out in the top three of her class right now. Crossing our fingers .. she's also been nominated for several free rides .. We are waiting to see how it pans out since it's still very early in the process.

Karen, I honestly didn't measure it, she had to be out the door this morning quick. Fair.. Mid sized, done with high grade ink art markers.

Fabulous!

I always go to the framer and play around. Sometimes I surprise myself ....

OT, but I met someone once that was a medical illustrator. Like your DD, he liked science and was artistic, and it was the perfect (albeit unique) career that combined the two,

I like the idea of a thin inner mat in one of the darker oranges and a wider outer mat in cream. I agree that a black frame will allow the orange in the piece to stand out on its own, plus it makes it easier to move from room to room.

It's a beautiful piece. You must be so proud of your daughter. :)

Keep it simple as the work is very intricate, I'd suggest a simple black frame and put it under non reflecting glass to maximize the viewing.

I'm with yaya, simple black frame. Your daughter has an amazing talent. Lucky you to have such a fabulous piece of art from your DD.

Utterly awesome! I know of a few people who would LOVE to have that on their wall. Does she plan to make prints and sell them? Note cards? Coffee mugs?

A lot depends on the size and where you plan to hang it and what your style is. I have a strong preference for weighty frames and impressive mats, unless it's a collection of small photos and prints. Minimalist modern frames are not me.

Contemporary: A wide, flat wooden frame, dark walnut, with a moderate width mat, color from the deeper tones, such as a rich purple or teal. Perhaps a double mat.

Reggae/Beachy/Funky: A creamy weathered whitewash wood board frame, matting from the brighter tones of teal and purple.

Or DIY a "chippy finish" board frame, with layered paint in the bright colors topped with a cream-white and mat it in cream or dark brown. Or bright purple.

SteamPunk: An ornate vintage frame from a thrift shop, sprayed oil-rubbed bronze, black or a deep purple or teal, maybe one of the hammered metal finishes.

Matted in a deep bronzy brown or a metallic with a very skinny under-mat of intense teal or violet ot orange.

TIP: Matting is expensive, custom framing is ludicrously extortionately expensive.
I have my art finds matted up to a standard "frame shop" size with careful attention to mats that make the artwork look its best, then get thrift shop or the perennial 40% off sale frames that suit them.

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I'm the sort of person who drives framing shops CRAZY because I go through every mat color they have, for every picture I'm framing. Sometimes it's the weird colors you would never have thought to try that work with the art, sometimes it's the obvious ones.

OT, but I met someone once that was a medical illustrator. Like your DD, he liked science and was artistic, and it was the perfect (albeit unique) career that combined the two,

That was my immediate thought, too. Despite all the digital media and stuff, it takes an ARTIST at times to make a good scientific illustration.

Usually the scientific illustration classes are hard to get into - they require art and science skills. I don't think it would be a problem for the DD.

That is such a colorful, graphic strong work of art that (depending on the size) I too would frame it very simply. No mat. A not too wide frame in the color picked from the central figure.

I do not see a mat with this. IMHO would take away from the impact of the image on its wonderfully diverse and unique background. You have a very talented daughter.

That is beautiful! You must be very proud. Is that Zentangle? They offer a zentangle class at the art museum down the street from me and I always thought it would be fun to try.

Wow, first thank you so much everyone for taking the time to look at this, the fantastic suggestions and wonderful comments. I can pick out art, framing it is not my strong suit. I very much appreciate the help! I really want this to be displayed giving it the best visual impact. I'm very proud of Lauren, she's a wonderful kid and a very hard worker. Really all three of my daughter's have artistic abilities, my youngest does beautiful sketching, my middle daughter paints and sculpts. As far as my decorating, eclectic, whimsical at time, I love brights .. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess in a way. ;)

Weedy acres, what an awesome idea for a profession! It's funny people that see her art tell her to go to art school, the child has a serious head for math, sciences and she's also a fair writer. She's pretty much done with high school, she's spent the last two years soaking every AP class that will get her where she wants to go.

Lazy gardens, we are actually entertaining the idea of setting her up to sell originals and prints .. The more money she can put away for college the better. This would engage her artistic side and allow her to have spending money. I think it would be a job she'd very much enjoy.

Gail .. This is Zentangle. :) Lauren loves this form of art, this is her in doodle mode. She's done many variations on this over the years.

Definitely take it to an experienced frame shop. It will be more expensive but it will make it more valuable in the art world. It's lovely!!!

This post was edited by caminnc on Wed, Oct 29, 14 at 6:40

Here's some that were in working stage .. Back ground not in. If I was going to do a nursery or small child room a collection of these would work so well.

Here's grey scale w/color .. This was concept stage, from there it was transferred and blown up.

Zentangle. Hmmm, never heard of this before. However, I was once married to someone who did large pieces like this with colored pens. It was during the psychedelic era and his artwork was very much of that time.

I just showed the work to my artist husband and asked his opinion. Without seeing my answer he gave the same advice as mine. Except he said lacquered wood containing some black along with the red. No mat.

Linelle, I can see this being very big in the psychedelic era, the art form really lends it's self to that!

Los, thank you and please tell your husband thank you too!

The octopus is stunning, but I'm in love with the giraffe!

I'll add my vote for a simple black frame.

Wow! What a talented daughter. You must be beyond proud!

This is just something I put together at an online framing site. Selection was limited, but it can give you ideas of what you do and don't like.

It's a beautiful piece!

aktillery has a good idea about creating mockups at online sites (pictureframes dot com comes to mind). I think the big black mat boxes in the octopus too much. I want to bust that guy out. :)

Ann, thank you!

Artillery, that's an excellent idea! Something I wouldn't have thought of. Thank you!

Linelle, i don't think I care for the mat with the print either, it's too weighty for the subject matter. It's kind of a light hearted piece in a way.

Here is a lighter feel, again, not a ton of options. But a different look to see if you like colors etc.

Artillery, thank you so much, both the examples have helped out a lot. Visually I prefer the lighter of the two. When I get a chance I'll sit down and fiddle with the picture .. mats verse none. And frame color, this has been a big help!!

Anytime!

Wow! She's so talented. Simple black frame with a thin off white matte is what comes to mind, but I agree you need to try out different combinations.

Thank you, nutsaboutplants! :)