Oil Painting and Portrait in Oil Caring Tips

Heartily enjoy your Artwork. Please Take Care of It!

We have some tips for maintaining and caring for a hand-painted oil reproduction on canvas so that you enjoy it for years to come. Like anything else in your home, an oil painting accumulates dirt and dust over time. Artwork does not need cleaning every week, but it does need occasional cleaning. Because it is a wall decoration, it is often overlooked when you clean your home or office. You clean the picture frame but frequently forget the canvas oil painting. Do not forget that the canvas also requires your attention. Artwork care is easy, below are some of the most frequently asked questions about the care, cleaning, and placement of oil paintings.

How to Handle an Oil Painting Reproduction or Portrait in Oil?

Please wash your hands and be sure they are free of grease or lotion before touching your hand-painted oil painting reproductions on canvas or portrait oil paintings from photos. Never lift the canvas by the edges with your fingers or contact the surface. Wear gloves, use tissue paper or lift from below using cardboard for support. Hold the cardboard, not the canvas, to ensure no crease or bend on the canvas oil painting.

Picture Framing the Artwork?

Quality framing is not expensive. The picture frame should be of the highest quality you can afford. The frame you choose should enhance the overall visual effect of the oil painting reproduction, portrait painting in oil , pet portrait , or oil painting of your home . Some oil paintings such as modern art do not need frames. You can look at our art sizes page to see what different canvas sizes will look like framed over a couch. Any picture frame will add weight and increase the overall size of the artwork by about 15%.

How Should Art Be Displayed?

To suspend it, use high-quality multi-strand, braided wire attached to the frame (or stretcher bar frame) via swivel joints. Fine art with a bulky frame should always hang from two heavy-duty hooks. Each can support double the weight of the picture frame and the reproduction oil painting canvas.

Climate Effects on Canvas Paintings?

Avoid locating your fine art canvas reproduction in an area of sudden hot to cold temperature changes or in the field of any forced air ventilation. The room temperature and humidity levels should be constant. Extreme temperature changes may cause expansion or contraction of the canvas, the frame, or both. It can result in structural damage causing a small rippling effect. The room temperature should be between 10C-25C or 50F-77F and 40% to 60% relative humidity. Consider using a dehumidifier if you live in a humid or coastal area.

How does Sunlight Damage a Painting over time?

Most paintings will be fine in a sunlit room if the sunlight does not touch them directly. In modern contemporary art, sometimes the canvas is not all covered with paint, and sunlight can damage the exposed (unpainted) canvas, but not the oil paint. Whenever possible, try to avoid direct sunlight, as fading due to ultraviolet (UV) rays is cumulative and irreversible. If possible, carefully hang it in a room with blinds or curtains, away from the direct sunlight.

How Should a Painting Be Cleaned?

Cleaning artwork is easy. For artwork care, you should clean with a soft brush. Please do not use a dry cloth or a duster because it may get caught in the pointy ends of brush strokes and break them off. If something adheres to the painted surface, cleanse it with water or mild soap and water. When finished, gently dry the area. Do not scratch it off, as this may remove and damage the oil paint on the canvas. If you cannot remove the dirt, have a restorer or art store clean it.

How to Clean Smoke Damage from a Canvas Oil Painting?

Have a smoker in the house? Smoking residue and discoloration of decorative art are almost certainly the consequence of years of smoking. Although you can carefully clean it, since there is a risk of considerable damage, it is advisable to take it to a skilled restorer to clean it.

What to do if the Artwork gets Wet?

If the art gets accidentally wet, diligently seek repair advice from a professional picture framer or restorer immediately. But first, you must dry the canvas right away before any moisture seeps into cracks or mold starts. Your home insurance should cover such accidents.

Varnishing is Not Essential for the Artwork.

All our 100% hand-painted oil painting reproductions on canvas and portraiture from photos are unvarnished. Varnishing is unnecessary. Varnish the painting to give it a matte, semi-gloss, or gloss surface finish or to enhance the surface luster after some time. Furthermore, varnishing gives a uniform appearance to the surface. An experienced art buyer or a restorer can do it. Oil paint colors harden with different surface 'sheen' especially in overlapping areas, between painting sessions. Oil paints typically take a long time to completely dry. Do not varnish for at least six months after receipt, allowing enough hardening and drying of the oil paint.

Additional Information for Education and Enjoyment.

You can choose your decorative painting based on a prominent artist, color, or subject matter . Next, you can see a wall art mock-up photo of it in your home or private office. You can see prime examples of our work in our artists and our studio to appreciate how we typically paint. To enjoy your art and learn a little more about it, you can read about the leading painter's biography or the art movement they were part of. Finally, in the Then and Now, plus Tilt-Shift painting photos , you might discover your favorite painting re-interpreted and view many of the specific locations where the artist set up their portable easel. If you have questions, please contact us .