Care for your Artwork

Tender Loving Care for your Artwork

The following are a few useful tips for the preservation of your newly acquired original oil painting.

As you are an 'art collector' and have acquired one of my paintings, I would like to offer you some free tips which will help your artwork remain in tip-top condition. The reason I go to the extremes of offering care advice and tracking my art is because it is not merely oil on canvas. Every piece means something to me and has become a part of me during its creation. I hope you will have a similar connection with your chosen piece.

1. Always be aware that prolonged exposure to sunlight can fade the vibrancy of the colours of oils.

2. As with sunlight, extreme temperature variations may also affect your painting.

3. It is best to avoid very damp areas for the positioning or storage of your painting.

4. If you are transporting your painting or moving it for cleaning, never lean it on sharp or pointed objects as this will leave a dent mark on the stretched canvas, which can mark the canvas permanently. It is best to lay the painting flat on its back, ensuring tha canvas is not touching anything.

5. If you feel that your canvas is losing its stretch you can place extra wedges in corners of the wooden frame (N.B. this should not be necessary on canvas boards).

6. When cleaning your painting never spray a cleaning product onto your painting or any cloth used to dust it. if you have an excess layer of dust building up on your painting you can dust very lightly using a cotton based cloth. It is not advisable to use a 'fluffy' type duster as particles may stick to the canvas.

7. If you ever decide to part with your painting please contact the artist to enable record updates for future traceability (this helps with fraud prevention and authenticity checks). Please do not destroy or discard an original artwork, as it can often be sold on to another collector or offered back to the creator.

8. If you are in any doubt about anything in connection with your newly acquired piece of original art, please do not hesitate to contact me.