Can you share some tips on how I can preserve my collection of paintings?

Can you share some tips on how I can preserve my collection of paintings?

• I have some oil, acrylic, and mixed media paintings. I live in a tropical country where it can get quite warm and humid. Is it better to have glass on top of my frames or not? Is a ...show more

• Answer:

  Hi. Heat and humidity are not friends of art. But, if the acrylic, and especially the oil paintings were prepared properly -- that is, with a primer on the canvas -- they should fare relatively well. Varnish is not necessary; I've never used it myself and have made thousands of paintings. I'm not sure varnish would reduce possible effects of humidity (worse than the heat is the humidity). It's supposed to protect from dirt, dust and pollution in the air. It also gives the painting a more even appearance, making it equally glossy or matte. If you do apply it, make sure the oil paint is completely dry. Don't know how old your pieces are, but this can take up to six months, even longer if a painting is very thick. Glass is usually not recommended over paintings. About your mixed media pieces, it's hard to say without knowing all the materials. Paper, as you know, may react to the humidity. Also, if you've gotten any oil paint on raw paper, you will have preservation problems pretty soon, I'm afraid. Acrylic on paper is less of a problem; it's the oil that "eats away" at the paper. Acrylic is a polymer, so it's less destructive to porous supports like paper or canvas. BUT, many mixed pieces last for years and years depending on what materials the artist used. As far as the paper pieces that have started to get wavy, they are most likely still at the stage where a restorer could retrieve them fairly easily. A restorer could also give you very good advice about proper preservation. It's tricky!