Whether you have purchased affordable art or a vastly expensive piece, it is essential that you know how to look after it properly. Our advice below on framing, hanging, handling and cleaning your artwork should help give you lifelong pleasure from your choose piece.
Glass or no glass
Artworks like watercolours, pastels and charcoals should usually be framed with glass. Oil and acrylic paintings can also be framed with glass but this is normally done through choice rather than necessity. Occasionally, people decide they would like the extra protection of glass, or they select a frame for the artwork which is more conducive to inserting glass. Generally speaking, oil and acrylic paintings are enhanced without glass and it is usually not necessary as most paintings have a protective coat of varnish. They can often be displayed in “floating” or “box” frames which have a gap between the frame and the actual artwork. This particular method of framing allows for any dust collected on the frame to be cleaned easily without the need to touch the painting. Gallery wrapped canvas panels can be displayed with or without a frame and there is strong trend among artists to finish their canvas this way, so as to avoid the need and extra cost in framing.
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| A gallery wrapped canvas | A floating or box frame |
Hanging and display
Wide variations in temperature or humidity are generally not conducive conditions for paintings. Paintings can look great in kitchens and bathrooms, but care needs to be taken to ensure they are not damaged. Hanging original pictures of all types – oils, acrylics, pastels and charcoals – in shower rooms should generally be avoided. If you wish to hang an artwork in your bathroom, ensure that the room is both large and well ventilated enough to allow steam to dissipate quickly. If hanging artwork in a kitchen, ensure it is situated well away from cookers, kettles, toasters, and any other sources which create steam or heat. It is also essential to locate paintings, especially gallery wrapped canvases without glass, where they will not get splashed by water, cooking oils, etc.
Paintings should never be hung on damp walls.
It is advisable to avoid hanging artworks directly over heat sources, such as radiators or fire places as dirt or smoke will be carried up and may damage the picture. Watercolours should generally be hung in indirect sunlight as strong light may fade or discolour the painting. Oil paintings are somewhat more robust, but if they are situated near high temperatures, they may dry or crack. Panels may also warp in extreme temperatures.
It is essential with gallery wrapped canvas paintings, that they are hung on a wall with a level surface, with nothing poking the canvas from behind (old nails, screws, etc.). Anything applying direct pressure to the canvas, even for a few minutes, can leave a permanent stretch mark or even a puncture.
Paintings can be hung in different ways. The best ways to hang your picture are to either use a high quality multi-stranded brass picture wire with eyehooks secured into the frame sides (not the top of the frame). The wire then rests on a picture hook in the wall. An alternative to using eyehooks and wire is the sawtooth hanger. No wire is needed as you simply rest the serrated edge on a nail in the wall. For canvases mounted on stretcher bars, the stretcher frame should simply rest on two hooks or nails at the top corners of the picture.
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| Picture wire and eye hooks | A saw tooth hook |
Handling your artwork
Try not to handle your artwork too much. Even if your hands are recently washed, the natural oils in your fingers will transfer onto the art surface and may leave a print, which allow won’t be obvious now but may become visible years later. If you need to move your painting you can wear cotton gloves or use tissue paper.
Cleaning
Artworks collect dust and dirt. If your painting is framed with glass, spray glass cleaner onto a soft cloth and gently clean the glass. Do not spray the cleaner on to the glass itself as it may drip down inside the frame and damage the painting. If your painting is not framed, or framed without glass, dust can be removed using a very soft brush. Avoid feather or sheep skin dusters as they are likely to catch and leave strands or filaments of material on the painting. Although most paintings have a protective varnish, never apply a damp cloth or cleaning fluids directly onto any painting.
If your painting becomes damaged
If you painting becomes water damaged, scratched, punctured or gets oil, grease or candle wax on it, or is damaged in some other way, contact a restoration professional as soon as possible. Art Under a Monkey always provides a Certificate of Authenticity which provides a valuation of the artwork for insurance purposes.
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