Caring for your Artwork

The most common question we get is ‘Can you hang oil paintings in sunlight?’

Yes, you can hang oil paintings in sunlight. The studio here has a roof lantern so we’ve found that out all the mediums oils have been fine so far. Unlike works on paper, such as watercolours and prints, oil paintings are far more resilient. However, caution should still be taken when choosing a location for any type of artwork.

Whilst a well-lit room is fine for most paintings, you should avoid putting them in a place which has a rapid or frequent change in temperature.

Too much direct sunlight, over a long period of time, can cause chemical changes to paint. Under these direct rays, green tones may turn brown and often a blue pigment will fade into a muted grey. If you see these changes occurring over time, your painting is almost certainly being affected by the light. 

The ideal temperature for paintings is around 16-26 degrees celsius, this will avoid any issues with mould or damp damaging the artwork.

There are specialists who offer UV filtering protection varnish or even UV filtering glass for oil paintings as an option if you wanted extra protection but these also have their pros and cons.

White paint tends to yellow if kept in a dark space for too long. So ensure white art is exposed to light and not in a dark room.

The varnishing date for all oil pieces would be 6 months from its creation date as oils need at least 6 months from their application day to fully dry before varnish is applied. 

At the end of the day it’s up to you. If the rooms well lit but no direct sunlight hits the wall you’ve designated for the art then it should be fine. Alternatively you can rotate your art pieces every 4 months or so.

With most artwork dusting is important to show off the beauty of the piece.