There is Nothing Like Original Art !!!

A couple of years ago in Key West, my hubby & I came across an amazing artist

 on the street in front of Hemingway's house...

 He had his art on the sidewalk. 

I loved every piece so choosing 1 was very difficult - impossible for me !!!

I finally decided on 8 pieces !!!

Then the real challenge began....

How do I frame them ?

I didnt want glass and finding frames, to fit these unique sizes, was not working !

I knew I wanted to keep the beachy feeling so I decided to make my own kind of frame.

I made a template, out of cardboard, for each piece of art.

Bought some 1/2" pine (nice for shelves).

measured around each of the templates on the wood

 to have a frame that visually worked with each piece.

Roughly 1" on each side & 1 1/2" on top & bottom.

After I cut the wood, I sanded each piece to give a very worn look.

I smoothed out all the corners.

I wanted the driftwood kind of effect, so I "whitewashed " with a watery greyish paint I mixed up.

Once they were dry I glued the art to the wood boards.

The paintings were on foam-core so I didn't have to worry about the glue having an effect on them. 

Now - how to hang them ?

I made holes in each and used thick jute to hang them with.

Tying the knots on the face side enhanced the real nautical kind of charm and also allowed the wood to hang almost flat on the wall.

 This just added a spectacular effect to the beachy - driftwood look I was going for !!!

 Each one is the artist's rendition of Hemingway...

...

 "The Fishman"

" The Partyman"

 "The Catman"

 I just love the way this whole room came together around the art !!!