Proper maintenance and protective care will help ensure that your photo oil painting’s beauty and quality remain in tact. Preserving your painting is neither difficult nor time-consuming; a few simple steps and precautions will keep your commissioned painting in beautiful condition.
Follow the framing instructions that came with your painting. Do not use a glass in your frame, as the glass can smudge or stick to the paint. To avoid bumps and scrapes to the exposed canvas, hang your painting properly on picture hooks, using a hanging wire. These can be purchased at most art supply or hobby stores. Periodically check the hanging wire, nails, and hooks on the back of your painting and in the wall to ensure that they are all secure. Any time that you handle the canvas remember to wash your hands before touching the painting. Like oils and steam from cooking and like cigarette smoke, the oils on your fingers can accumulate on the painting and damage it. Touching the canvas with clean hands helps to keep the canvas free of debris. When moving the painting, always hold it securely by the frame with two hands to avoid loosening the support beams.
When selecting a location to display your painting, you’ll want to avoid extremes in three particular areas: temperature, humidity, and lighting. Avoid rooms that become either excessively hot or cold, as extreme temperatures can crack or change the texture of the paint. An average temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit will best preserve your painting.
Similarly, excessive humidity can warp your canvas. Kitchens and bathrooms tend to cause an increase in humidity, so you will likely want to hang your painting elsewhere in your home. Incredible dryness in a room can in turn dry out your canvas and its supporting beams. Dry heat is particularly damaging to the paint, and so avoid displaying your artwork too close to a fireplace or other heat source, such as a furnace vent. The ideal humidity level for the room in which you hang your painting is 45%. A hygrometer, which you can find at any hardware store, can measure humidity levels for you.
As with all paintings, direct light, whether it is artificial lighting or natural sunlight, can cause the pigments in your painting to fade. While you will not want to put your picture oil painting in an overly dark room, try not to point a light source directly at the canvas when you display it.
If you notice that dust has accumulated on your canvas, you can vacuum the back of it with a brush attachment. The front of the oil painting reproduction’s canvas can also be wiped lightly with a soft brush or cloth. If you notice grime or dirt on your painting, you can clean the necessary spots with a small amount of mild dish soap on a dampened cloth. If you need to clean oil painting’s canvas in this way, test the cleaning solution on a small, painted portion on the edge or back of your panting. Allow the test area to dry completely, to ensure that the solution does not discolor or damage your photo oil painting.
In extremely damp environments, canvases can grow mold on them. There are also incredibly rare cases in which small insects can begin to infiltrate the canvas. If you notice either of these things occurring (you’ll see a darkened, likely damp space appear), gently wrap your canvas in a plastic bag and take it to be treated by a specialist. Do not attempt to remove the mold or infestation yourself.
So remember to keep your painting free from extremes in temperature, humidity, and lighting and out of contact with smoke and oils. Handle your commissioned painting with care, and you’ll have a one-of-a-kind treasure to show off with pride for years to come.
