What’s with all this Shiny Shiny Glass?!

This post is dear to my heart as it is literally one of my biggest bug bears and in the title is a huge giveaway clue….You got it people goal in one and go to the head of the class - yep it’s all about the inescapable glare factor that you get from your glazed and framed art prints.

I’m sure many of you can relate to being super proud of your framed art purchase, getting it up the wall, standing back to have a look and or take a photo and it’s frustrating seeing all that glazed glass literally staring right back at you.

For me when I buy an art print, I want to put it up STRAIGHT AWAY (I’ve told you before I’m ridiculously impatient). So out comes the hammer and the nails which is never a good sign (my hubby has now hidden them from me to prevent our walls resembling a sieve!) & its bing, bang bosh as I’ve slung up my latest find. But in the end, all I can see is my wee mug reflecting back at me.

Obvs I know you can use command strips but personally I have had really bad experiences with them from ripping the plaster off the wall to unceremoniously damaged frames as they have fallen down. Not good.

Well what can you do about it?!

Well there are several options available to you. But I urge you not to go with option one, what did I say people? Yes, that’s right do not go with option one!

Option one - remove all offending glass from said framed art prints and give yourself a huge pat on the back upon completion.

Ok I am guffawing as I write this as I recall doing this exact same thing one Sunday afternoon eons ago in a fit of pique. I did it because I had gone to a great deal of trouble to create a gallery wall but upon completion the collective glare would literally have blinded the Space Hubble and taken it out of action.

Cue what happened next, that’s right warping and damage occurred on some of the prints without glass. Ok in fairness to me some of the prints I spray mounted onto backing hardboard to support them beforehand but let’s just say I put the glass back in the majority of them in the end.

Option two – use non-reflective glass which is a no brainer in terms of being an easy solution. The only problem with this is that most shop or gallery bought prints do not install non-reflective glass in framed artwork and I will explain why in option 4. In addition, non-reflective glass does have some glare but it’s of a much lesser intensity.

Whilst non-reflective glass is not readily available, if you get your artwork framed professionally you can ask for it to be installed and it’s also usually cheaper than standard glass.

Or in large hobby shops you can buy non-reflective glass and frame it yourself. However, there are limitations in terms of the sizes available etc and you will need a certain level of expertise if you are going to frame it yourself not least with regards to stringing it so that it doesn’t come undone.

Option three – use acrylic instead of glass. Now whilst acrylic is a much lighter material and tends to be cheaper alternative to glass (depending on how it has been used). It has the propensity to scratch really easily and when it’s damaged the only thing you can do is replace it.

Option four – use glass with high glare factor i.e. the standard that’s available. Now the reason why this is the best option is because it has the highest UV protection factor and therefore unless your artwork is facing direct sunlight (don’t as it will fade over time) it provides better protection all round.

Plus, if you are really bothered about it from a photographic point of view lots of cameras have settings to get around the glare issue. I also imagine many modern mobile phones are capable of this too. Personally, I wouldn’t know as my phone is so old it came from Noah’s Ark when he threw it off.

So, there you go another quick information round up for you.

One thing before I go note how I didn’t mention original paintings and glazing well it's simple technically because they shouldn’t be behind glass (unless it’s being held in the National Portrait Gallery or alike) but that’s another post for another time.

Laiters!