Headlines
Framing Down a Country Lane
06 February 2020
4walls got in touch with Village Framers, Ian and Jane, to learn more about how their mix of talents were the perfect recipe for success, alongside interviewing one of their most featured artists, the inspirational Keith Jansz.
Jane started off as an artist, teaching painting to adult groups for about 40 years, before Ian decided he could utilise his skills as a carpenter to frame Jane and her many students’ work. After realising they were the perfect partnership, the pair invested in framing equipment to set up their own framing business, Village Framers, in their picturesque garden studio in Lillingstone Lovell.
Along with Ian’s framing skills, Jane also uses her artistic abilities to restore old oil paintings. Jane tells us that these pieces are her favourite to work on, and have often needed frames suitable for Old Master paintings. We were happy to hear that she regularly uses the Larson-Juhl Michelangelo range with an added gold slip, as she thinks it is the ideal frame to compliment this type of artwork.
When discussing some of their most challenging commissions, Ian and Jane told us: “Every framing job poses a new obstacle, but one of the most challenging we have received was a painting that had to be framed with double doors at the front, which then opened up to reveal another painted scene behind the doors!”.
Jane is also trained in textiles, so will often receive more intricate requests from embroiderers looking for help with stretching and how to present their work. But whatever they are assigned, their favourite part of the job is the pleasure of contributing towards the delight of the artist when they see their final framed artwork.
They particularly love the location of their work, stating that “framing and restoration from our own home has proved to be the most enjoyable job we’ve had, and we hope to do it for many years to come. We may be off the beaten track with no passing trade in our beautiful cottage garden, but our customers truly enjoy having a personal touch in such a lovely location.”
One of Village Framers most well-known customers is mouth painter, Keith Jansz. Jane first met Keith when he had just begun painting, and was facing the enormous challenge of painting with his mouth. It was many years later, when he was an established member of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, that Village Framers were asked to frame his work. His impressionistic style of painting needed a frame to set off the shimmering light and vibrant colours in his paintings that could neither look too contemporary, nor too dominant.
Jane told us: “The Florentina range with an added ivory painted slip, or a linen slip, looked just right. Coming in three different widths and with a scooped profile, this was just perfect for his canvas paintings, and has remained a firm favourite with him.”
4walls was keen to learn more about Keith Jansz and his incredible journey into the world of art. Keith told us: “It's most important to stress that I owe a great deal of gratitude to a disabled German artist called Eric Stegmann who lived through the Second World War, was imprisoned by the Nazi party for his protest paintings and later established the world renowned Mouth and Foot Painting Association (MFPA) of which I am a UK member.”
“The Christmas gift of a book on the biographies of the international mouth and foot artists literally changed my life and without reading it, I would've been in a darker place. The opportunity and possibilities through the MFPA allowed me to create a career direction, purpose and focus which I never would've known. It's been my salvation!”
Keith finds most of his inspiration from “the marvels of nature, the great cities built by man, subjects that lift my spirits and hopefully will have the same effect on others”, focusing specifically on urban landscapes or seascapes such as London, Rome, Venice or Cornwall.
Keith has informed us that he has plenty of exhibitions planned for this year so be sure to visit his website, keithjansz.com, to find out more about where you can catch him!
To see more of Village Framers work, visit their website.
villageframers.co.uk
Jane started off as an artist, teaching painting to adult groups for about 40 years, before Ian decided he could utilise his skills as a carpenter to frame Jane and her many students’ work. After realising they were the perfect partnership, the pair invested in framing equipment to set up their own framing business, Village Framers, in their picturesque garden studio in Lillingstone Lovell.
Along with Ian’s framing skills, Jane also uses her artistic abilities to restore old oil paintings. Jane tells us that these pieces are her favourite to work on, and have often needed frames suitable for Old Master paintings. We were happy to hear that she regularly uses the Larson-Juhl Michelangelo range with an added gold slip, as she thinks it is the ideal frame to compliment this type of artwork.
When discussing some of their most challenging commissions, Ian and Jane told us: “Every framing job poses a new obstacle, but one of the most challenging we have received was a painting that had to be framed with double doors at the front, which then opened up to reveal another painted scene behind the doors!”.
Jane is also trained in textiles, so will often receive more intricate requests from embroiderers looking for help with stretching and how to present their work. But whatever they are assigned, their favourite part of the job is the pleasure of contributing towards the delight of the artist when they see their final framed artwork.
They particularly love the location of their work, stating that “framing and restoration from our own home has proved to be the most enjoyable job we’ve had, and we hope to do it for many years to come. We may be off the beaten track with no passing trade in our beautiful cottage garden, but our customers truly enjoy having a personal touch in such a lovely location.”
One of Village Framers most well-known customers is mouth painter, Keith Jansz. Jane first met Keith when he had just begun painting, and was facing the enormous challenge of painting with his mouth. It was many years later, when he was an established member of the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, that Village Framers were asked to frame his work. His impressionistic style of painting needed a frame to set off the shimmering light and vibrant colours in his paintings that could neither look too contemporary, nor too dominant.
Jane told us: “The Florentina range with an added ivory painted slip, or a linen slip, looked just right. Coming in three different widths and with a scooped profile, this was just perfect for his canvas paintings, and has remained a firm favourite with him.”
4walls was keen to learn more about Keith Jansz and his incredible journey into the world of art. Keith told us: “It's most important to stress that I owe a great deal of gratitude to a disabled German artist called Eric Stegmann who lived through the Second World War, was imprisoned by the Nazi party for his protest paintings and later established the world renowned Mouth and Foot Painting Association (MFPA) of which I am a UK member.”
“The Christmas gift of a book on the biographies of the international mouth and foot artists literally changed my life and without reading it, I would've been in a darker place. The opportunity and possibilities through the MFPA allowed me to create a career direction, purpose and focus which I never would've known. It's been my salvation!”
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Keith finds most of his inspiration from “the marvels of nature, the great cities built by man, subjects that lift my spirits and hopefully will have the same effect on others”, focusing specifically on urban landscapes or seascapes such as London, Rome, Venice or Cornwall.
Keith has informed us that he has plenty of exhibitions planned for this year so be sure to visit his website, keithjansz.com, to find out more about where you can catch him!
To see more of Village Framers work, visit their website.
villageframers.co.uk
