I recently had my Polychromos colour swatches framed, and I absolutely LOVE how they’ve turned out!

I don’t normally go for coloured frames, but this purple picks up the Quinacridone Magenta beautifully and makes the whole piece feel fun and a little bit different.

And it reminded me just how much the right frame can completely transform a piece of artwork.

We can spend hours – sometimes hundreds of hours! – creating a coloured pencil drawing, carefully thinking about our colours, values, details and composition.

Then we finish it and think…

Right. What on earth do I do with it now? 😂

So I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned about how to frame coloured pencil drawings and choosing a frame that lets your artwork shine.

1. Let Your Coloured Pencil Artwork Be the Star

The frame should complement your drawing rather than compete with it.

If your artwork already contains lots of colour and detail, a simple frame can be all it needs. If the drawing is more understated – or you’re framing something for yourself – you might decide to have a little more fun.

My purple frame is definitely more colourful than I’d normally choose, but because it picks up a colour from the artwork, it ties everything together beautifully.

2. Keep Frames Neutral If You’re Selling Your Artwork

If you’re framing a coloured pencil drawing to sell and you have no idea where it will eventually hang, simple and neutral is often the safest option.

Neutral frames paired with off-white or cream mounts are more likely to work in lots of different homes.

Of course, if you’re framing something for your own wall, you know exactly where it’s going – so you can be a bit braver!

3. Give Your Artwork Room to Breathe

Don’t automatically go for a tiny mount around your drawing.

A more generous mount gives the artwork some breathing room and can make the finished piece feel much more considered.

This is also worth thinking about before you even start drawing.

Leaving plenty of blank space around your artwork gives your framer more flexibility when deciding where the mount should sit.

4. Don’t Assume You Need Multiple Mounts

Double and triple mounts can look lovely, but more isn’t necessarily better.

Sometimes a single, thicker mount gives coloured pencil artwork a beautifully clean finish without distracting from the drawing itself.

As with so many things in art, it’s about looking at the individual piece rather than following a rule because you think you’re supposed to!

5. Have Some Fun With Your Frame

If the artwork is going on your own wall, this is your opportunity to experiment.

Look at the colours within your drawing. Is there one you could pick up in the frame?

Could a dark frame emphasise your values? Would something lighter let the drawing do all the talking? Or could an unexpected colour make the whole thing feel more you?

You might surprise yourself.

I certainly didn’t expect to become the owner of a bright purple frame, but here we are! 😂

Your Finished Drawings Deserve to Be Seen

I think we can sometimes spend so much time thinking about creating our artwork that we forget about enjoying it once it’s finished.

Seeing a drawing properly framed can make you look at it completely differently.

Instead of being that drawing that’s been tucked away in a folder for six months, suddenly it’s a finished piece of artwork hanging proudly on your wall.

My colourful swatches are heading into the new gallery I’m creating at home. Technically, it’s a long corridor, but gallery sounds MUCH grander! 😂

I’m going to fill it with a mixture of my own drawings and originals and prints I’ve collected from other artists over the years.

Because our finished drawings deserve to be seen and enjoyed, not simply finished and popped into a drawer.