When a painting is awaiting collection to be restored, it is quite tempting to try and rectify the damage at home. For instance, you could try to lessen the appearance of two tears in the canvas. Even though applying strips of canvas on the back of the painting over the holes is a short term measure to try and improve the painting’s appearance, there is a good chance you might live to regret your decision.
While such solutions to act as a temporary fix are not uncommon, they do risk causing additional damage to an artwork. So what is the best way to store and secure a piece of artwork before you finally pay for oil painting restoration services? Keep reading to find out more!
Avoid Rolling the Painting
Before you finally make up your mind to restore art, it is tempting to roll the paint. However, this is one of those habits that you should never take up at any time. If the artwork is in a position to be rolled, this means it has already been taken out of the frame and removed from the stretcher bars.
Now that the painting’s main support is gone, it is already susceptible to further damage. If you make it the norm to roll your painting, the risk of flaking and lost paint is increased significantly. And this can be attributed to the movement of the canvas and the friction caused.
Avoid Stabilizing the Paint Layer
Sometimes you might find yourself trying to stabilize the paint layer at home before paying for picture restoration services. Unfortunately, this will most likely not end up well. Keep in mind applying glue or another adhesive to the canvas, to stick any flaking paint back down only leads to more work. To prevent this from happening, it is in your best interest to leave the painting on a flat surface without any movement. That way, you won’t find yourself losing any more paint.
Keep Framed Artwork Safe
Painting restoration can also apply to framed artwork. If your artwork is framed, then you should never make the mistake of removing it since the frame provides support to the painting. Furthermore, lifting a frame from a framed artwork is best suited to trained art conservators who understand what is expected.
If you have any artworks covered by glass, make it the norm to keep it in place. In the event that a pane of glass splinters, moving it could cause harm to yourself and the artwork. Things are no different when you decide to remove it since you could take off some of the paint layer. This requires substantially more work to resolve the damage. For this reason, you might end up paying more to have the restoration painting done.
The Bottom Line
The way you decide to secure your artwork before restoration speaks volumes about how things will transpire in the long run. By implementing the non-abrasive measures mentioned above, rest assured you will be looking after your painting in a more beneficial way.
