Paintings stored wrong :(

seeker

Mon, Sep 25 2017, 10:25 am

I took oil painting classes when I was young and several of my paintings were never hung up. Maybe because I was self-conscious, maybe because I couldn't decide where (still can't) or maybe because we just never got around to it... maybe some "all of the above."

Anyway I found them in a closet in my childhood home. Some had stuck to each other a bit. I guess I could try to fix them up but I'm sad that little flecks of my original childhood artwork are no more.

For future reference, what is the correct way to store and care for oil paintings? (they were done on the flat canvases that are cardboard-backed, not stretched.) The ones that are framed and hung, do they need to be cleaned? Some I do just want to store because I just want the souvenir (so to speak) of the classes I took as a child. Actually the reason I took them out just now was to show my kids, just for fun. (they were better than I remembered. Maybe I should get back into it. In all my spare time.)

Same question with regard to acrylic paintings. I still rarely paint but when I do I use acrylics because they dry faster and hopefully don't need as much ventilation. I don't have time and space for fancy hobbies now.

PassionFruit

Mon, Sep 25 2017, 10:49 am

Let the painting completely dry--about 72 hours for acrylic, and up to 7 months for oil, clean dust with microfiber, and then apply 2 coats of varnish at right angles from each other, letting it dry in between coats. If you are not going to hang the painting, cover the front of it with a silicone mat, then layer tissue paper and then newspaper on top of that. The painting must be kept at a moderate temperature, without excess moisture--so not attic or basement.