If you’re an art fanatic then you would have surely invested in the artworks or paintings you love. When you hang those painting on the walls, not only they make the interior of your home beautiful but also change the aura of your surroundings. Those who come to visit you, appreciate the art and you feel amused by the same. But tell me one thing, have you ever done something to protect your painting? Or do you do anything to keep your paintings the way you brought it?

I know, most of the people will answer no.

Okay, let me tell you that your paintings will never remain the same. It will get dust particles or oil collected over it and it will start appearing blur and more. Therefore, you must care for the art or painting that you and others appreciate. Nothing big, just a little effort and attention will make your arts alive once again.

Through this blog, I have tried to explain some of the simplest yet excellent ways to keep the modern paintings canvas in your art gallery alive and protected from dust particles.

Clean your paintings in the simplest ways

When you hang paintings on the wall, then not only it is prone to dirt and oils but there are many other factors as well that are responsible for the ill condition of the artwork. Since you’re an art lover then you must be aware of the various kinds of painting such as oil paintings, acrylic painting, and watercolour artworks etc. The method of cleaning every painting is slightly different. Let’s find out the tips-

For modern paintings made on canvas

This particular tip that I am going to reveal should only be applied to paintings made on canvas and not on paper.

Suppose you have a painting hanging on the wall for years and it has got all things filthy and murky. So how would you clean such a turbid painting?

Let me answer. You just need to take a white cloth immersed into a soapy water contained with olive oil and then start cleaning the painting with the same. Very soon you will realize how gloomy your work was. The way you will keep proceeding, the look of your real painting will start coming off. If there’s any crevasse, you can clean it using cue tips.

For paintings made on paper

To begin with, you first need to identify whether the modern painting made on the paper is painted by watercolour, oils, acrylics or something else. If it is watercolour painting then you should never clean it with water or it will completely destroy the painting by spilling colours throughout. You can simply make use of a brush to remove the dirt settled on the painting.

Paintings made with acrylics

Acrylic paintings have a very soft texture due to which they have a tendency to attract dirt and dust and hold them in a place firmly. Therefore, a gentle dusting or wipe down will be sufficient to touch up most of the acrylic paintings. You can use a soft brush and mild soap solution to clean the artwork and then you can store it properly to ensure the painting has preserved its original beauty.

But before you start cleaning, you must ensure that the painting has completely dried up.

Tips to clean oil paintings

Oil paintings have very unique and sensitive surfaces and therefore, over the time they can collect dust, filth, and stains. Because the painting is so sensitive, so you can’t use water, soap, alcohol or any other cleaners present at your home. Instead, you should a dry and soft paintbrush to clean the surface. My next statement will make feel little yuck but yes, you can even use your own saliva and a cotton swab to remove the filth.

If you think that the painting you own is very valuable and outworn then I will recommend you to take it to a professional conservator to get it cleaned.

How to protect paintings from sun rays?

My first advice is- don’t hang paintings where sunrays fall directly. If you still want to hang them at such places due to some specific reasons, then you must get your paintings laminated with ultraviolet protecting glass. When you’re getting your paintings framed, don’t look for the cost. The higher and better the UV protection frame would be, the better it would for your paintings.

How to keep the paintings maintained forever?

It is as simple as it sounds- dust it regularly. Yes, when you clean your paintings after a very long time then dirt and dust get deposited over them rigidly. But if you clean it regularly, filth never sticks hard and it’s very easy to get them off the paintings.

Final words

As you clean your house regularly and do dustings, the same way, it’s necessary to take care of the paintings as well that you often ignore while cleaning. Last but not the least, the paintings made on paper must be kept away from the humid areas such as the kitchen and bathroom, else the artwork will suffer badly.