Preserving And Protecting Your Beloved Oil Paintings

Posted June 22, 2010 By admin

Oil Painting by my Grandfather H Malek of the view from his yard

Oil Painting by my Grandfather H Malek of the view from his yard

It is important to know how to look after your oil painting properly once you own one. You may have just purchased your first oil painting, to add that touch of style to your study, living room, or bedroom. Oil paintings are beautiful additions to the house, and are great conversation pieces as well (remember my post about bringing one of my Grandfather’s painting to work). They can also be a great investment if they are kept in their top condition. Here are some simple steps you can take to preserve the appearance of you oil paintings.

You should always check the location where you intend to place your painting and avoid any area that is prone to extreme heat or cold, or humidity. This includes places like over the fireplace and in direct line of an air conditioner.You should also keep in mind that prolonged sunlight will cause the paint to fade, and choose the location accordingly.

A layer of dust will also spoil the painting, as it will dry the oil colors out and therefore fade the painting. Dust your painting regularly, but remember not to use surface cleaners. A dry and soft cloth will suffice.

When moving the painting from one place to another, whether to a different room or a different building altogether, make sure you lay a flat piece of cardboard, a mat, or other firm material on both the front and the back of the picture, and then wrap it in Styrofoam or bubble wrap. Remember that any moisture build up could damage the painting so if it must be left wrapped up for a long period of time then store it in a dry place.

If your painting is damaged despite your best efforts, do not try to retouch or repair it yourself.  You should take it to a professional conservator who can do any necessary repair on the painting properly.

If you follow these simple instructions in caring for your oil paintings, they should remain in top condition and available for your enjoyment for many years to come.

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Oil Paintings

Posted June 19, 2010 By admin

Paintings are one of the most beautiful creations of man, the Vatican City demonstrates this perfectly. A good painting has the power to trigger extreme emotions from its spectator. Oil paintings are beautiful art forms, and these antique elements continue to mark their stand through generations.

The Creation of Man by Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel

Why Oil Paintings you ask?

The great painters and the artists of the past chose to work on oil paintings because it rendered a very realistic output. The paintings differed from those produced by water colors, because oil paintings provided a rich and vivid visual effect.

Oil paintings originated during the middle ages when there was a high demand for waterproof artwork. Oil paint became known for its durability and long lasting resistance. But for the durability of oil paints, we would not be privileged to see paintings from hundreds of years ago. Having said this, some famous paintings do get touched up from time to time so they are at their best presentation.

Behind the beauty of oil paintings is the hard work of the artist. A classical work may take several weeks to months to complete. Color pigments and binders are the constituents of the oil paints. Linseed oils, poppy seed oils, safflower oils and walnut oils are the oils that get mixed with the pigments. Brushers made up of different fibers are used to paint. Oil painting is said to take a lot of work because it does not dry up easily, and if the artists want to paint in layers, they would have to wait for the paints to dry at each level which may take up to a week. The oils used would dry at their own pace.

Unlike water paintings, changes to oil paintings can be made during its drying period.  Oil paintings do not dry through evaporation, they have to be oxidized. And then these paints are varnished after six months or a year. Some art conservators consider an oil painting to be dry only after its 60-80 years old.

Oil paintings reached the pinnacle during the renaissance, where artists began to select wooden panels as their base medium. They would stretch their canvas over the wooden panel. Artists used a variety of brushes to produce different kinds of unique effects, knives and blades were also used. Some artists painted with their fingers too.

Typically, my Grandfather painted on canvas, but when he ran out and we haven’t had time to buy new ones for him, he would paint on anything! He has painted on wooden boards, back of other paintings, and believe it or not, he’s painted directly onto the wall of his dining room!

Oil paintings today

Oil painting is an astonishing art form and even today there are many artists who work fabulously with oil paints. But now there are more sophisticated tools to produce oil paintings such as water miscible oil paints. These paints can be thinned and cleaned up with water rather than using the turpentine. Earlier turpentine was used as a cleaner and / or thinner in oil paintings. These water miscible oil paints reduce the deep odor of toxic chemicals. Those days artist coated a blended mixture on the canvas before they started painting, this was done to protect the canvas from the toxic nature of the paints. But with the improvements of paints, some of the older safety measures are no longer required.

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What You Need to Know Before Investing in Art

Posted June 6, 2010 By admin

The Famous "Starry Night" by Van Gogh

A properly chosen painting can essentially increase in value in just a few years. And it is not as hard to choose a piece of art fitting in this category as it might seem at first.

Before investing any substantial amount of money in paintings, you should consider:

  • Why is there a difference in the price for different paintings?
  • How to choose a painting that will eventually increase in value?
  • What is the right price to pay for the painting and not overpay?
  • What factors influence the cost of a painting?

These and other questions are what you will have to consider when you want to buy a painting, be it to change or add to the decor of your house and / or to make a wise investment for your hard earned money.

The difference in price of paintings can be astonishing. For two almost identical paintings (the canvas, oil) in different places you could be asked to pay from $500 to $5000. How do you make the right choice in a situation like that? Often buyers simply don’t recognize the factors that price consist of. In the best-case scenario when you know an artist personally and you are buying a painting directly from him or her - the price practically equals the expenses of the painting. But it is not often that you would personally know a painter, although with the increased convenience of the internet these days, buying directly from painters are more possible.

If you buy a painting from an art gallery, the price is influenced by a number of factors. First of all - rent of the gallery space: the majority of galleries are located in nice places therefore have high rent; Salary of employees of a gallery who carry out the exhibitions; Cost of advertising (including expenses for posters, catalogs, invitations to opening of exhibitions, etc); Financing other non-commercial art projects, and many other things. You will have to pay at least twice as much than if you buy a painting from the painter directly.

Having said this, there are benefits to buying from an exhibition or through an art gallery. These places will generally offer you works of art that have already gone through preliminary selection and tough competition. You know for sure it is a good investment.

If you are buying a painting directly from an artist, all you can do is basically rely on your own taste and on some attributes of professionalism and success of the artist. For example, it is relevant to know whether the artist has had art education. Certainly there are some talented self-educated artists, but they are very rare.

There are some other questions you may want to ask your artist. For example:

  • Do they have any works exhibited in large museums?
  • Are they a winner of any art competitions?
  • Where was their recent exhibition? A list of exhibitions will tell you a lot about him or her.
  • Whether they a catalog of exhibitions, posters, booklets and other advertising material?
  • Do they have a professional looking website? A good website is also a sign of professionalism. Certainly not all talented artists have their own websites but most of them do.

If you are buying from a gallery or other reseller, it doesn’t hurt to ask them to point to you those artwork that are likely to rise in value in the near future or to tell you which of the artists they see as having potential to succeed.

If you have problems with going to galleries and attending the opening days you can do everything online. Search in Google or in any other catalog under the category “art” and look at the personal websites of the artists. You will definitely be able to obtain a lot of information online.  The only problem I see is that sometimes online you can’t really see what the painting really looks like in real life. To minimize this disadvantage, make sure you ask for a large picture of the painting so that you can see it in detail on your computer. Usually if you like what you see on the computer screen, the original painting will not disappoint you but like anything else, there will be that odd exception from time to time.

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Frame Painting - Art Prints Framed

Posted June 1, 2010 By admin

Painting with a Textured Frame

Purchasing a framed painting (a large one anyway) may seem daunting to the first timer and may affect the decision they make in purchasing the painting itself. What I do is look at the painting and frame in isolation and then together as one piece.  If the choice is available, I usually like buying the painting unframed and then framing separately.

It is fairly simple to frame and relatively inexpensive. Many of the art frames can be purchased to match your décor and/or other artwork adjacent. Sometimes an ordinary piece of art can become somewhat if you choose the right frame. The choices are limitless when it comes to finding the right frame online or offline. Having said this, I have bought paintings before with the frame because I happened to like the combination which was a bonus.

If you are purchasing an unframed work directly from the artist it never hurts to ask if they have a connection to get you a good priced frame. Artists that sell a lot will not purchase frames at retail price. They usually have a friendly source or a good business connection that deals with frames, so talk to him or her and see if you can get you a discount. It never hurts to ask.

If you prefer to look for a frame yourself then I’m sure you won’t have a problem

Painting with a Sophisdicated Golden Frame

finding a professional framers in your area. They are quite common place nowadays. As with any service or profession some are good and some are not so good. Shop around for the best service, best price, and look for value as you would for any other product or service.

Below are just a few tips to help you choose your frame.

Size

Making any sized frame “work” with a piece you must ultimately control the proportions with matting. A wide frame requires more matting than a narrow frame.

Style

By looking at your painting you will see how the coloring, theme and medium will most often direct you toward a particular  type of frames. Generally the frame should go with the theme, medium and style of

Painting with a Simple Black Frame

the painting. If you are still having a hard time with choosing your frame you can also use the décor of your room in which the piece will hang as your guide. For example, you wouldn’t use a wooden frame with an unfinished look more suitable for a cottage in a condo with a modern decor.

Wooden frames will look good with most paintings, it’s more a matter of the color of the wood and how the wood is finished.  Wood can be stained in colors like walnut, cherry, oak, ash, basswood, poplar, and pine. Stained wood can be plain, carved, simple or ornate. And, many wood frames are available in lacquer finishes, faux finishes, and gold or sliver leaf.

Metal frames work well with certain décor, or with more  modern pieces and posters can also be a good choice. I would however stay well away from plastic or acrylic frames. They just don’t do anything for your feel, decor or the value of your painting.

If you are going to buy your frame online, make sure you know exactly what you are buying. You would preferably have checked out different frames at a store before making your purchase online.

Painting with a Walnut & Gold Swept Frame

Painting with Raw Wooden Frame

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