What You Need To Know About Caring For Paintings
24 November, 2010- Paintings are a good medium for home decoration including living room decoration! So, when you buy living room paintings, you must also make yourself aware about how to care for living room paintings so that they keep on making your surroundings beautiful and also because you mostly get expensive paintings for decorating your living room. Care for living room paintings is just similar to care for other paintings in house. Read on this article to know all about caring for paintings!
Living Room Painting
By: Carol Mcguire
Stop by any museum and you will discover paintings that are centuries old. They have been well cared for through proper cleaning, proper lighting levels, and humidity and temperature control. One need not live in a museum in order to own great works of art that will stay in superb shape and endure for many years. Paintings change naturally over time, but following steps will help you maintain your painted works and keep them new-looking for many years.
Install a backing board to stretch canvas paintings. Stretch canvas paintings are usually open in the back and the opening can cause works of art to be affected by the environment; they may age, crack and flake more quickly. Maintain a painted work of art by having a backing board professionally mounted to the frame. The backing board works to prevent the infiltration of dirt, dust, air and debris. The back of a painting does not require ventilation, and it is best protected if it is completely sealed.
Hang the painting securely to prevent damage. One of the most typical methods in which painted works of art are scratched or damaged is by improper hanging. A hanger or nail in a wall can give way and a painting that is not appropriately equipped with a wire hanger can fall to the floor. Maintain paintings prior to hanging by always using double-braided wire in lieu of other types of hanging apparatuses. In addition, securely attach the braided wire to the frame around the painting rather than the frame the canvas is stretched around. Instead of ordinary nails, hang painted works of art on mounting hooks that are anchored into the wall and can hold more than the weight of the framed painting. When properly outfitted with hardware and hung on secure hooks, painted and framed works of art will never fall off walls and become irreparably damaged.
Take care by maintaining proper humidity. Humidity fluctuations can damage painted works of art and wood frames. Proper care is necessary, and it is crucial to maintain low humidity. Fifty percent humidity is ideal for displaying and storing paintings. Most of all, steer clear of all at once changing the level of humidity. Surprisingly, great fluctuations in humidity are far more damaging than storing paintings in less than ideal humid locations.
Control all lighting types. Artificial as well as natural lighting can be hot and will damage paintings and frames. Maintain care by keeping paintings from sunny windows or other intense sources of light. Also, do not use wall-mounted lights typically used for displaying and highlighting paintings. The bulbs can become hot, and when placed too close to paintings or even the frames, paintings can become very dry and eventually damaged. Rather than using possibly harmful lighting, take care by opting for recessed lighting, lighting that is adjustable, indirect natural light, or tungsten lamps.
Regulate temperature. When striving to maintain proper care through humidity and light control, it is also important to maintain temperatures that are ideal for storing or displaying paintings. As a rule, if the temperature is comfortable for people, it is ideal for displaying and storing painted works of art.
Keep folks from smoking around the painted work of art and prohibit spray products in the area where it is displayed. Smoke will fade paintings and leave them coated in a layer of fine soot. Fireplaces and other sources of smoke can also damage and soil paintings. Prohibit smoking in the home or building, and do not hang paintings near a fireplace or another source of smoke that can coat and discolor works of art. In addition, do not spray air freshener or other products around or near paintings.
Care for works of art by preventing dust build-up. Just like other works of art, paintings require occasional dusting, but take care not to use items that can inadvertently scratch or flake away paint. Utilize a microfiber cloth or a brush with extremely soft bristles. A natural sable brush is ideal to care for and clean dust from the surface of paintings as well as the nooks and crannies of delicate frames.
Clean soiled paintings with the utmost care. If paintings at least six months old become soiled and a light dusting is insufficient, use a microfiber cloth dampened with a mixture of distilled water and a small amount of very mild detergent to clean the surface. Using a clean microfiber fabric or cloth that is equally as soft, take care by ringing out the cloth after dipping it in clean distilled water, and softly remove the dirt and detergent. Allow the surface to air-dry to avoid putting undue pressure on the canvas. This type of care should only be used if a painting is truly dirty.
With appropriate care, the colors in paintings will remain true to life. In addition, when stored in an ideal environment, paintings will remain in excellent condition. With the right care museum quality paintings can become heirloom treasures that are handed down from generation to generation while still looking as fabulous as they did they day they were created.
Install a backing board to stretch canvas paintings. Stretch canvas paintings are usually open in the back and the opening can cause works of art to be affected by the environment; they may age, crack and flake more quickly. Maintain a painted work of art by having a backing board professionally mounted to the frame. The backing board works to prevent the infiltration of dirt, dust, air and debris. The back of a painting does not require ventilation, and it is best protected if it is completely sealed.
Hang the painting securely to prevent damage. One of the most typical methods in which painted works of art are scratched or damaged is by improper hanging. A hanger or nail in a wall can give way and a painting that is not appropriately equipped with a wire hanger can fall to the floor. Maintain paintings prior to hanging by always using double-braided wire in lieu of other types of hanging apparatuses. In addition, securely attach the braided wire to the frame around the painting rather than the frame the canvas is stretched around. Instead of ordinary nails, hang painted works of art on mounting hooks that are anchored into the wall and can hold more than the weight of the framed painting. When properly outfitted with hardware and hung on secure hooks, painted and framed works of art will never fall off walls and become irreparably damaged.
Care for Paintings
Control all lighting types. Artificial as well as natural lighting can be hot and will damage paintings and frames. Maintain care by keeping paintings from sunny windows or other intense sources of light. Also, do not use wall-mounted lights typically used for displaying and highlighting paintings. The bulbs can become hot, and when placed too close to paintings or even the frames, paintings can become very dry and eventually damaged. Rather than using possibly harmful lighting, take care by opting for recessed lighting, lighting that is adjustable, indirect natural light, or tungsten lamps.
Keep folks from smoking around the painted work of art and prohibit spray products in the area where it is displayed. Smoke will fade paintings and leave them coated in a layer of fine soot. Fireplaces and other sources of smoke can also damage and soil paintings. Prohibit smoking in the home or building, and do not hang paintings near a fireplace or another source of smoke that can coat and discolor works of art. In addition, do not spray air freshener or other products around or near paintings.
Care for works of art by preventing dust build-up. Just like other works of art, paintings require occasional dusting, but take care not to use items that can inadvertently scratch or flake away paint. Utilize a microfiber cloth or a brush with extremely soft bristles. A natural sable brush is ideal to care for and clean dust from the surface of paintings as well as the nooks and crannies of delicate frames.
Clean soiled paintings with the utmost care. If paintings at least six months old become soiled and a light dusting is insufficient, use a microfiber cloth dampened with a mixture of distilled water and a small amount of very mild detergent to clean the surface. Using a clean microfiber fabric or cloth that is equally as soft, take care by ringing out the cloth after dipping it in clean distilled water, and softly remove the dirt and detergent. Allow the surface to air-dry to avoid putting undue pressure on the canvas. This type of care should only be used if a painting is truly dirty.
With appropriate care, the colors in paintings will remain true to life. In addition, when stored in an ideal environment, paintings will remain in excellent condition. With the right care museum quality paintings can become heirloom treasures that are handed down from generation to generation while still looking as fabulous as they did they day they were created.
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About the Author
Article written by Carol Mcguire of WallDecorandHomeAccents.com, check out our selection of tropical fish wall decorations & wall decoration ideas online.
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What You Need To Know About Caring For Paintings