Anna L. Conti, San Francisco Artist

Caring For Your Acrylic Painting
by Anna L. Conti

I have been using Golden Acrylic artist colors since 1985, and I am completely confident in the quality and integrity of their paints. You will have no problems with colors fading in your work of art, nor will you have any of the other problems associated with inferior paints. However, there are certain qualities intrinsic to acrylic paint, and specific to my style of painting that you should keep in mind in the care of your painting: temperature, dust, handling, and accidents.

TEMPERATURE: Acrylic paints dry "to the touch" in seconds to minutes, but it may take days to months before the water has completely moved out of the paint layers. Even after it has completely dried, the acrylic emulsion remains soft and flexible at room temperature. The colder the painting gets, the stiffer the acrylic becomes, and it can crack if it freezes. The warmer the painting gets, the softer the acrylic becomes. A softer surface is more susceptible to abrasions and to dust. A steady 60 to 75 degrees is best.

DUST: Unlike oil paintings, which can have a buildup of grime cleaned off the surface, acrylic paintings cannot effectively be cleaned - especially paintings with very thin layers of paint. Dust can be a real problem with acrylic paintings. As the temperature of the painting changes, the acrylic emulsion expands and contracts. Dust on the surface will be slowly absorbed into the painting. Eventually this can affect the clarity and brilliance of the image. There's no such thing as dust-free and the average well-cared-for home is not going to present a problem to an acrylic painting. But some situations can create dust problems: smoke of any kind (tobacco, incense, fireplaces, cooking, automobile exhaust) will be rapidly absorbed by the painting. Keep your painting in an area that is as clean and dust-free as possible. If you notice a dust buildup on the surface, you can brush it lightly with a clean dry feather duster (paper or cloth will leave fibers behind and wear away the surface.)

HANDLING: Because I paint in extremely thin layers, on a rough cotton canvas surface, my paintings are prone to abrasions during handling. This can happen when the painting is bumped or scraped by a denim sleeve, a piece of cardboard, or a even fingernail. When this happens, part of the thin layer of acrylic paint is torn away from the underlying layers, sometimes down to the white gesso base coat. It may just appear as a pale spot or line. The best way to avoid this is with careful handling of the painting. Hold it only by the edges, hang it in a place where it won't get bumped, and when storing or transporting the painting, be sure the surface is protected by a smooth, archival plastic sheet.

ACCIDENTS: Spills and splashes can occasionally mar the surface of a painting. If the liquid is clear (colorless) it's probably not a problem - just let it dry. If the splash is a greasy or oily liquid, it can be cleaned within a day or two - email me or call the gallery for more information. If the splash contains alcohol, be especially careful not to abrade the surface, since alcohol will dissolve acrylic paint.

Occasionally more serious accidents happen. If your painting suffers a tear, poke, scratch, or any other damage, I will be happy to consult with you on the best method of repair. In most cases I will fix it myself, for free. If more extensive work is needed, I'll give you a referral. If I think you can handle it yourself, I'll give you instructions. You can email me at anna@bigcrow.com or you call at (415) 661-7026. (Please NOTE: this offer applies only to my collectors - it was originally a printed handout that accompanied all of my paintings.)

The Golden newsletter, "Just Paint", Issue #11, has a terrific, detailed, in-depth article about handling and transport of Acrylic Paintings: http://www.goldenacrylics.com/justpaint.htm

This is one of the best links I've seen for information on care of fine art:
http://aic.stanford.edu/treasure/paint.html