Restoration
International
Clean Fine Art Paintings
When it comes to cleaning oil paintings, I get excited. I love cleaning oil paintings!
It's wonderful to uncover what the artist wanted us to appreciate!
Oil Paintings should be professionally cleaned every 10 years. If you have a fireplace, have a smoking member of your household, or display your paintings in high moisture areas we recommend professional cleaning much more frequently.
Feel free to read the tips below on how to maintain your paintings and contact me for any help you need!
Call: 260.420.7248,
or Contact Me by Secure Form today.
In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.
– Henry Ward Beecher
A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires.
– Hedy Lamarr
Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.
– John Ruskin
Painting is by nature a luminous language.
– Robert Delaunay
Many owners of paintings I have helped had never seen their paintings in anything close to the original state. Sometimes changes to a paintings condition will seem imperceptible, yet surface dirt accumulates on paintings under normal conditions in exactly the same way as it does on curtains in a room. Here is a quick check to see if a painting might need cleaning: Take your painting from the wall.
- The pale rectangle where it was hung is a good measure of the amount of surface dirt it has attracted since last moved.
- If there is a darker, richer-coloured rectangle this is an indication of the potential effects which sunlight may have had.
- Put your painting up to a light to check for any rips or tears, bright sunlight works best but a bright lamp will work too.
Most restoration services charge by the inch in order to clean an oil painting. We determine the charge by the amount of grime on it. It could be smoke damage, mold, or something else. Whatever the case, we will make it look beautiful again.
Taking Care of Your Painting at Home
Paintings generally do well in environmental conditions that are comfortable for people, in regards to both temperature and relative humidity level. Use careful consideration in placing your paintings; direct sunlight can cause fading, yellowing, and excessive heating of the paint surface. Don't hang paintings above fireplaces or in a kitchen or bathroom.
- Every four to six month examine your paintings for chips or cracks, then use a "makeup brush" with soft bristles to dust your painting very lightly
- Never try to clean a painting yourself or use any liquid or commercial cleaners on a painted surface. You could damage to the fragile layers of a painting beyond repair.
- Avoid touching the surface of paintings with your fingers.
- Don't using pesticides, air fresheners, or furniture sprays near your artworks.
- Remove paintings from a room before steam-cleaning carpets, plastering, painting, or wallpapering. Then return your artworks only when the walls and floors are completely dry.