Fresh Oil Paintings

When purchasing or obtaining a freshly painted oil painting, it is very likely that it has not truly "dried" yet. Oil paints can take between a few months to a year to "dry" despite feeling dry to the touch. Therefore, let's make a distinction between these two states of dryness:

Dry:
Being dry to physically touch (taking a week to a month).

Cured:
Being dried chemically (taking several months to a year).

Although determining if an oil painting is physically dry or not is relatively easy, determining if an oil painting is cured is a little trickier.

Provided that the painting is dry to touch, there are four (4) major considerations in caring for your painting:

• Uncured paintings are damaged more easily, especially in the early stages of curing.
  In the early stages of curing only, you can physically feel the difference between a cured painting and uncured one. The uncured painting will feel "soft", almost rubbery. (Please don't test this by running your fingers across a new painting that you intend to keep; the painting is very susceptible to damage, even rubbing off color if the painting has just dried.) Keep in mind that you want to protect your painting from being scratched, rubbed against or from rubbing off color (such as touching or using a regular cloth). When dusting any painting, use a soft cloth, feather duster or lightly forced air to dust with as paintings can still be scratched after they have cured.
• Oil paintings required oxygen to cure.
  Oil paints cure through oxidation and how you store the painting will make a difference in curing times. Closing it in a case with no ventilation or placing it right up against a sheet of glass when framing will greatly slow the curing process. If you wish to use glass with a frame, ensure that you have at least 1.5cm or about 1/2" of air between the glass and the painting. This might slow your curing time but it will at least cure and protect it from being scratched.
• Uncured oil paintings can be light or dark sensitive.
  Since curing an oil painting is a chemical process, some pigments will react to extremes in lighting. As with any painting, avoid hanging it in sunlight or near bright halogen lights as it will fade. However, only during the curing period (of up to a year) should you avoid keeping it in the dark all the time. Keeping a freshly painted oil painting in a dark room for curing process can cause white pigment to yellow. The close the painting is to being cured, the less dark sensitive it will be. Therefore, when it is cured it is not longer dark sensitive and such sensitivity is no longer an issue.
• Never use varnish or any liquids of any kind until it is cured.
  During the curing time (or the first year, to be safe) leave the painting alone from anything liquid. Liquids of any kind, especially solvents, can react and even ruin your oil painting, even when cured. Please research the topic thoroughly on items in use in protecting your oil paintings. Do not test them out on your painting until after it has been cured.

Finally, keep in mind that, with proper care, an oil painting will virtually last forever. Photos typically will not - even acid free photo paper will eventually age, oxidize and become brittle over time. With care, oil paintings can remain pristine for centuries and, hopefully, become family treasures to be passed on to your descendants.

Causes of Damage & Guidelines for Care
The primary cause of damage to oil paintings is the storage or display of paintings in inappropriate environments. This includes display or storage areas where there is excessive exposure to light, high and/or fluctuating temperature and humidity levels, dirt or insects. Damage can also be caused by careless handing and the improper cleaning of paintings.

Light Levels
Excessively high light levels can cause the fading and/or darkening of paintings. Some paintings darken so severely that the painting and its details are no longer visible. In order to avoid damage caused by light, paintings should be displayed in dim areas where no direct sunlight is allowed to fall on the painting. The suggested light level for paintings is 200 lux. Light levels can be measured using the light meter in a 35mm camera.

High light levels can also cause damage due to excessive heat build up. The use of lights that are positioned close to the paintings such as the commercially available lights that are mounted to the frame or directly above it should be avoided. Diffused spotlights should be mounted at least 10 fee from the painting to avoid potentially damaging heat build up.

Nancy J. T. Massoll
Fine Original Oil Paintings/Gicleé Images
Milford Michigan 48381
248.684.2160
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