Ballantyne Framing & Art

08/05/2026

Hi friends! We're open rain or shine. Hopefully we'll get a little bit more "shine" today, but in the meantime, check out this absolutely gorgeous photo from prolific Bulgarian artist Jacko Vassilev! It's a stunning piece and we found a frame that grabs the movement, style, and color (grays are still colors!) to highlight the perfect shot of a very fun billboard still on the truck. You can see more of his work here: https://www.jackovassilev.com/

07/16/2026

Artists in the National Juried Show coming up at Craven Arts Council / Bank of the Arts --this is LAST CALL for any framing/matting/glass that you might need from me! If you need anything done, bring it to me today or I won't have time to get you fixed up! This will be an awesome show and I encourage everyone to go check it out next month.

And as for this picture--whiskey and OJ! What a prescription! Shout out to The Old Pinnix for letting me frame up this one. If you haven't been over there yet, their food and cocktails are delicious, especially if you love toast!

06/27/2026

Hi there friends! I'll be closing at 2:30 today instead of the usual 3 for an event I can't miss. And as a reminder for next week--July 1: closed at 3pm. July 4-7: closed all day(s) for Independence Day!

I've gotten a lot of new moulding lines in--I mean really, how gorgeous is this? Cross stitch by one of our talented customers in this lovely burl edged in dark gold. Come check out what new things I have and bring your unframed treasures!

06/10/2026

We're all still open! A little construction doesn't bother us. I'm still here framing, and the others are still here working hard, too!

While construction is taking place at the intersection of Craven and Po***ck Street, businesses are OPEN during normal business hours.
*On-street parking available as well as the free Red Bear parking lot on Craven Street near the Doubletree.

05/30/2026

Hi there friends! I am still quite a bit under the weather (again, not contagious!) so please be patient with me while I get back up to speed. And in the midst of it all, I have new moulding choices in. I've been waiting on my suppliers to put out some good choices that combine wood with a hint of gold and silver and they're now coming through, so if you're looking for something that combines classic and modern, I've got you covered!

05/26/2026

Hi friends--I gave it a shot but I've got to close early today. I am quite under the weather (don't worry, nothing contagious!), and just need a little more rest. I plan on being back in tomorrow, fingers crossed. Thank you for your patience!

05/20/2026

Hi friends! We ARE open today...just about 20 minutes late! We were part of that power outage in the middle of the night last night, and then alarms didn't go off....

Onto other things. Now, if my lovely customer would have let me, I'd have kept this newly framed piece! Such a beautiful hand-painted mandala that was a joy to admire as I framed it.

And last, a little update on my "let's try not to throw so much stuff away!" plan--I now have a Free to a Good Home box with matboard scraps, wayward frames, and some unwanted art prints for good measure. Come get some!

05/13/2026

Let's offer a warm welcome to all of the talented artists visiting during the Plein Air festival! This week, North Carolina Plein Air Art Festival in New Bern has organized this fantastic event where you can tour New Bern and our surrounding little ENC towns and watch these excellent artists showcase their craft.

For the artists, if you seem to be missing one last canvas, sheet of paper, or a frame for your work, I've got custom frames (of course!), Arches cold press watercolor paper in different weights, hand stretched unprimed cotton canvas, and some smaller pieces of Aquabord. I've got limited quantities of each, but if you're in a snag, I'm priced competitively and I'll do what I can to have you covered! And now for some history!

"En plein air" is a French term referring to open-air painting, and it's emergence and burgeoning popularity is primarily credited to French neoclassic painted Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1750-1819). While spending time in Rome, he explored painting landscapes from directly the source itself, nature, forming the concept of the "landscape portrait." He wanted to capture the same scenes at different times and seasons, capturing the changing landscape as we see it in life, not as just one snapshot at one time in space. One of his notable students was Pierre Prévost, famous in his own right for being the first French panoramic painter, which is pretty cool in and of itself!

So join us outdoors, the weather is supposed to be lovely all week, and I personally know how much you all love and support the arts!

(plein air facts were sourced from Wikipedia, because, alas, I'm finding myself too low on time to get my real History research on)

05/05/2026

A reminder we will be closed most of this week--Thurs.-Sat. (May 7th-9th) we will be off visiting family out of state! Gotta take a vacation every once in a while, right?

And good news everyone! For all you smart savers, burgeoning artists, small project folks or just those that, "I want it cheap!", here you go. Allow me to introduce the discontinued, phased out, and/or lightly damaged moulding-from-the-back bucket. I've got some nice lengths and everything here is going to be $1/foot. This will not include labor (if you want me to cut and assemble), glazing, hanging hardware, etc., those services/products will be additional cost. These are first come, first serve, no holds, COME AND GET SOME WOOD!

04/28/2026

Hey friends, I'll be closing a little early tomorrow for an art-related thing. I'll be learning about judging art shows, and if you know me, you know I love to learn! May 7-9 will see us taking a trip to Ohio to see family that we haven't seen in a bit, so very exciting next couple of weeks!

On the policies thing: they're not really new, I've just been lax. But the last-minute orders are getting a little wild, so amusement park fast-pass rules are kicking in here. This fee won't apply to remats, glass replacement, small repairs, etc., just to full framing jobs.
Polystyrene is gross. I understand it's cheaper to buy. It's plastic. It also ruins my saw blades, requires a respirator to work with, requires a special adhesive that STINKS, and is also quite a bit more flammable than wood. The cheaper cost isn't worth it, guys. And let's be real, the smell of freshly cut wood is lovely!