HOW TO KEEP YOUR
OIL PAINTING PICTURE PERFECT
Many homeowners have found joy in buying and displaying
oil paintings. Oil paintings are fragile objects and are easily damaged by light, heat, humidity, dust and dirt.
So it's critical to frame and display your
paintings correctly, and to inspect them to make sure that the environment is not adversely affecting them.
Oil paint is made up of pigment mixed with a binding agent (usually linseed oil linseed oil, amber-colored, fatty oil extracted from the cotyledons and inner coats of the linseed. The raw oil extracted from the seeds by hydraulic pressure is pale in color and practically without taste or odor. ). The
paint is applied to a support such as canvas or wood panel (many
artists also use Masonite, a trade name for a compressed, wood-fiber wallboard, as a ground). The canvas is stretched across a rigid wooden frame, called a stretcher stretcher /stretch·er/ (strech′er) a contrivance for carrying the sick or wounded.
stretch·er
n. . Panels may be supported by a frame, called a cradle.
The surface of
an oil painting should be protected with a coating of clear varnish varnish, homogeneous solution of gum or of natural or synthetic resins in oil (oil varnish) or in a volatile solvent (spirit varnish), which dries on exposure to air, forming a thin, hard, usually glossy film.
..... Click the link for more information. (although
paintings such as Renaissance glue-tempera
paintings are exceptions).
An oil painting, then, is a complex structure of various layers,
oil on canvas abstract, varnish,
paint and support that expand, flex and sometimes separate from each other. If any layer deteriorates or is damaged, it seriously could affect the entire piece.
Extreme or unstable environmental conditions, p
articularly temperature and humidity, can be detrimental to
an oil painting. Temperatures over 75 degrees Fahrenheit will cause the support to expand and the
paint layers to crack and flake flake
an epidermal scale.
flake Cocaine, see there away. Relative humidity relative humidity
n.
The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air at a specific temperature to the maximum amount that the air could hold at that temperature, expressed as a percentage. should be maintained around 55 percent, otherwise moisture will collect. This can breed mold, attract insects and sometimes cause the varnish to bloom (i.e., develop a whitish haze).
All
oil paintings should be framed. The frame is more than decorative, it also serves as an additional support. It's essential to choose a frame for structure as well as aesthetic appeal. In recent times, many
artists have found that it is easier and more economical to frame their works by tacking light strips of molding directly to the stretcher. This pseudo-frame offers no support for the
painting, and in time both will warp. It should be replaced.
A good frame should be deep enough to contain the entire thickness of the
painting (this includes the stretcher). Shallow frames can be built up by adding strips of wood on the back. Many
oil paintings are secured in their frames with nails. A better way to hold the
painting is with mirror clips. These are small, flat pieces of plastic or metal that are screwed into the back of the frame; they overlap across the back of the picture. Insert small pieces of cork or balsa between the clips and the picture. This material will support the
painting and allow it to expand or contract naturally.
The frame opening - that is the space in which the
painting fits - is called the rebate. It should be slightly larger than the picture to allow for expansion. Tack flexible shims, made of cork or balsa, to the frame to keep the picture centered in the rebate.
It's a good idea to fix a backboard back·board
n.
1. A board placed under or behind something to provide firmness or support.
2. A board placed beneath the body of a person with an injury to the neck or back, used especially in transporting the person in such a way on the back of the frame. The backboard is a piece of acid-free cardboard that covers the back of the frame. It can protect the
painting from temperature or humidity and also help to keep dust from accumulating.
In general,
oil paintings do not need glass or plexiglass, but sometimes there are exceptions.
Paintings with a fragile surface or
paintings exposed to dust or hung in high-traffic areas should be glazed glaze
n.
1. A thin smooth shiny coating.
2. A thin glassy coating of ice.