To Mat or Not to Mat, That's the Question

Preparing to present work to the public takes time. Since I decided to participate in this upcoming art show, I had to look through my work, chose which to bring, which to leave behind, mat or leave bare, mat and frame, or not bother.

Watercolor paintings are painted on pretty sturdy paper. It's not easily bent, however care needs to be taken in the transporting of the pieces. And should something sell, the buyer needs some way to take the work with them, protected by something.

Which to chose?

This week I visited the art supplier near me for vinyl, acid free sleeves. Another online artist was sending out her work in such a thing and I asked where she purchased them. I thought I saw something like it somewhere. I found them in different sizes and bought a few packs.

The question now is to mat or leave the work bare? And, which pieces, and how many?

Some of my work already had mats, and I found a few left from another time I made some. So the matting job would be left for only a few larger works. Mats make the work look finished and neat.

If I mat some work, is it a must that all be matted?

Then there's the pricing thing. From what I gather from others, the price is the price. It doesn't matter when the work was done, there shouldn't be a discount for that. I don't think the price should change if there is a mat or not either. I will just bring different sizes of work to cover various prices.

Frames are another story. Have you seen the price of frames? Wow. And I shopped in the local craft store, not the custom framing section either! Amazing.

I'm not sure how many pieces to bring. I have an old school, box style portfolio case and I might fill it with work. If I sell out, I should only sell out, I'll have more pieces to show that I could pull from the case.

Look at me, all I think I'll sell out! We have to think big here and there.