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If you are a connoisseur of art and you’re especially interested in oil paintings, you surely must know by now that the cleaning procedure of oil paintings does not necessarily mean just simple brushing and wiping of dirt with ordinary materials! The care you must exhibit towards paintings in general – especially so if it’s done in oil – must be evident as the essence of paintings can be easily ruined with just the wrong stroke of a brush or simple mishandling.
The dirt removing process of oil paintings is more elaborate compared to the cleaning procedures for other paintings. This is because paintings done in oil are of different material and texture, making the painting more easily vulnerable and open to damage if not cared for properly. There are several major factors that would affect or cause dirt and/or grime to accumulate in oil paintings. We shall be discussing just one factor in this article.
How Bright Is The Light?
The level of light in a room containing oil paintings may be the reason why the latter has darkening spots. In the worst cases, the oil painting is affected so adversely that some spots of the oil painting end up becoming practically indiscernible! If you don’t want light to be a problem for your oil paintings, do make sure that the room containing your precious oil paintings can not directly be reached by sunlight. Draw the drapes if needed.
Remember how Nicole Kidman’s kids were in her horror movie, The Others? Well, that’s how oil paintings are too – very, very, very photo sensitive! It’s preferred that no more and no less that 200 lux should be available for the oil paintings. Light level can be accurately determined with the help of the light meter of a 35mm camera.
The increased presence of light in a room containing oil paintings also causes heat to build up in the painting, leading to varying degrees of damage. I know that It’s quite popular these days to use a commercial light overhead an oil painting that you want people to focus on but directly putting it overhead would just cause more damage.
If you really want to put the oil painting in the spotlight, try using diffused ones and make sure that they’re at least ten feet away from the oil painting to avoid causing damage.
And I reiterate once more – please handle your oil paintings with care whenever you clean them! It would be such a waste if you accidentally ruin the painting with your well-meaning intentions!
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