caring for original artwork

You’ve invested in original artwork and you deserve to enjoy it for many, many years to come. Here are a few suggestions to ensure a long life for your artwork.

  1. Keep your artworks out of direct sunlight. All artwork is prone to potential cracking and fading when exposed to sunlight. Your artwork may have a protective layer of varnish, but over time, the UV rays of the sunlight will damage any art.
  2. Hang your artworks away from very busy and possibly messy areas. Over time, artworks can accumulate a thin layer of dust and pollutants, airborne grime from cooking oils, particles from smoking and insect specks. If there is a place to display your piece away from these things, or where it will be somewhat less exposed, try to position it there.
  3. Dust your artworks with a clean, soft rag occasionally to prevent dust buildup. Don’t use cleaning products or water!
  4. Try to avoid subjecting your artworks to extreme changes in atmosphere. Avoid excessive dryness, humidity, heat or cold. All of these conditions can affect the state of your artwork in a negative way (canvas puckering, paint cracking, etc.).
  5. Do not lean anything against the surface of a canvas. Objects near a painting may not seem sharp enough to pierce the canvas, but it is always surprising what will cause a scratch or a rip. Try not to lean artworks on one another when storing them. Separate them with pieces of cardboard to avoid damage.
  6. Wrap your artwork well if you plan to transport it. Be sure to put a heavy piece of cardboard over the front and back to protect it. Then bubble wrap and place in a suitable heavy cardboard box. Rough handling can damage both the painting and the frame, so pack it securely.
  7. Artwork on paper is more vulnerable to fading. When you have it framed, consider investing in UV protective glass.
  8. Do not cover artworks with plastic for long periods of time. If there is humidity in the air, they may start to grow mould. Cotton sheets are best for keeping dust away.
  9. Check the condition of your artworks periodically. Many people put up artwork and forget about it until they notice that it has been damaged. If artwork is fading or cracking, a brief peek at it can prompt you to move it to a better place and avoid damaging it further.

Many of my paintings incorporate Alcohol Inks as the primary medium. Unfortunately, alcohol inks are not lightfast and therefore are more prone to fading than other mediums.

All my alcohol ink artwork is sprayed with several coats of a UV protective sealer. In addition, I highly recommend investing in UV protective glass when you select a frame.

Finally, ensure that the piece is not hung where it will receive any direct sunlight.

Following these steps will help ensure a long and happy life for your artwork.

Care of Your Pastel Portrait

Pastel is one of the most permanent art mediums in existence. Many pastels painted over 200 years ago are still as bright and fresh as the day they were created. The artist’s pigments in the pastels I use are the same as those used in fine oil paints. The only difference is that with pastel the pigments are not mixed with a liquid binder which may degrade over time. 

Pastel paintings may shed a few particles of pigment when new. This is normal and will not damage the image. The surface will become more solid with time and shedding will stop. Do not attempt to rub or brush away fallen particles, as you may mar the surface of the painting. Lightly shake them off and store your unframed portrait flat in its packaging until you take it to your framer.

My pastel paintings are covered with Glassine paper – a smooth, glossy paper that is resistant to air, water and grease. The painting is then sandwiched between two pieces of foam core board and, if needed, additional boards are used to increase rigidity. This packaging is designed to protect and preserve the painting for short-term storage until you are able to take it to your framer.

Please choose your framer carefully, one with experience framing soft pastel artworks. Discount framers may charge less, but they often save money and cut corners by using non-archival, non-acid-free framing materials. These materials may harm your painting. It’s worth choosing the best quality framing materials so that your family can enjoy your artwork for many years to come.

What to tell your framer

You want acid-free, archival framing materials. The backing board and mats, if any, should be museum quality. 100% rag board and acid-free foam core are best. Cheap matboard or brown cardboard backings will stain and yellow your painting within a few years.

Do not spray any sort of fixative or coating on your painting in the framing process or allow your framer to do so. These sprays may change the colours in your portrait, damage the paper or dislodge the pastel particles from the surface. Careful handling is a must. Do not touch the painted surface. Putting fingers or other items on top of the portrait or allowing it to be rubbed or flexed will damage the surface. Keep it flat, supported from underneath and facing upwards to protect the pastel surface.

Do not use Plexiglas™ or non-glare glass to frame your portrait. Plexiglas™ holds a static charge that may pull pastel particles from the paper and in time create a “ghost” image on the underside of the glass. This will probably not seriously harm your portrait, but it will obscure your view of it! Non-glare glass makes your portrait appear blurry and dull in colour, and it is best avoided.

One good approach for framing your pastel is to use a reversed double mat, with the larger window underneath. This creates a gap behind the mat where any fallen particles will be invisible. Another is to use a spacer strip between the glass and the painting so that no mat is necessary.

Hanging your pastel:

Choose a dry place indoors out of direct sunlight. Sunlight, even filtered through a window, is the enemy of all fine artwork. It degrades paper and canvas and may fade pigments. Dampness may damage paper and even allow mould to grow on paintings. Outside walls, basement walls and stone or concrete walls may transmit dampness, so avoid hanging art on them. An interior wall without nearby windows is ideal. Bedrooms, sitting rooms and hallways are often the best places for fine artworks. Bathrooms and kitchens may have very damp air, so please avoid hanging your fine artworks near showers, tubs and stoves.

Encaustic paint is an ancient medium that has lasted throughout centuries. It has amazing lightfast properties. However, as with all mediums, encaustics should be hung in a location where they will not receive direct sunlight.

The ideal environment for encaustic paintings is normal room temperature, in neither a humid nor dry air. Encaustic paint softens at 120 degrees Fahrenheit and will harden and become brittle in cold and freezing temperatures.

The surface of an encaustic painting my develop a cloudy film known as bloom. Bloom is caused by unsaturated hydrocarbons migrating to the surface and crystallizing. After a while, this will cease. This condition may be reversed and the original lustre regained by buffing the surface with a clean, seamless cotton cloth in a random circular motion.

Encaustic paintings do not need to be framed behind glass. If glass is used, it is important that your framer include a spacer between the artwork and the glass to allow airflow so the painting does not become too hot.