CONGRATULATIONS to KATHLEEN CONNAUGHTON

of Hollywood Frame Gallery; Houston, TX

Kathleen has been framing treasures from her customer Pam’s collection of artwork for over 9 years. This piece titled “Natural Jewelry” by artist Yana Movchan combines classical Renaissance painting techniques with magic realism to create a playful and dreamlike tableau.

Kathleen likes her frame designs to be a continuation of the art and thus generally leaves out the matting. This often leads to creative stacked moulding combinations which she considers part of her signature style. In fact, she has done previous designs for the same client using as many as 7 frames together!

For this triple stack she took cues and inspiration from colors and textures in the art. First the inner Raku picks up some of the highlights in the figure’s hair, the middle Bernini ornate arabesque compliments the movement and moodiness and finally the exuberant outer vintage gold Rococo Marie picks up on the lace motif and elements from nature in the print.

Kathleen says the colors and textures of the Raku line work on anything. She uses the tiny Raku in particular as a great liner for all manner of watercolors and illustrations. And for the contemporary artwork and customers coming in to her shop these days, Kathleen finds the juxtaposition created by pairing a traditional or familiar design like the Marie or Bernini to be very popular and on-trend.

Kathleen’s customer loved the finished piece and shared it with the artist who happens to have an upcoming show with Neiman Marcus. Perhaps we’ll be seeing more framed pieces like this soon in a store near you?

Triple congrats to Kathleen for her magical trio of stacked Bella mouldings. Kathleen says, “It’s easy to be creative when there is creative product to work with. Thank you for inspiring me as well as the industry.” Aw…Thanks Kathleen! You inspire us too.

Kathleen is the final entry in the grand prize contest for a free trip to WCAF Vegas coming up in January 2020! Voting for the Grand Prize round is now open!! Be sure to vote today for your favorite! Who is joining us in Vegas this year??

Until then, happy framing and looking forward to seeing your smiling faces at the show in January!