Storing oil pastel drawings
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I was at the art gallery the other day (adding to my creative bank account
). There was an exhibit featuring the artwork from an illustrated book from the 1930s. The artwork was done in mixed medium such as pastel and gouache and I think acrylic. This exhibit is only on display once every 3 years and for no more than 3 months.I asked a tour guide why this was and I was told it was to protect the paintings. Climate controlled environment, etc.
After I got home, I looked at the oil pastel paintings I have hanging on my wall since maybe 2005. I did apply fixative but other thank that, there’s no museum style climate control monitoring moisture, etc.
As far as I can tell, nothing happened to the drawings. Too soon as compared with the 1930s? Should I be taking museum style care of these paintings? -
@danielerossi I think it really depends on the quality of materials you used. If you used archival quality, then I think you’re good to go. Of course there are also other factors to consider but I’m also not quite familiar. Lol
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One of the biggest factors is sunlight. It does a lot of damage. If you want to preserve the drawing, storing it in a dark space is ideal. If there isn't a compelling reason to have the original displayed, it's best to make a copy to hang on the wall. The museum is doing a great job balancing sharing the work and preserving it, because I'm sure it was great to see the actual brushstrokes.
I wrote a paper for framing pieces from a collection in an exhibit and that's the only thing I remember.
Well that and there's an art to creating a facsimile, which is what they would call a copy. -
@carolinedrawing I guess I’m lucky that there isn’t much sunlight where the paintings are
