Make a watercolour artwork safe!

  

Make a watercolour artwork safe!

When you buy an oil painting it looks safe because stretched canvas makes the artwork thick and stable. With watercolour it is different - it looks vulnerable! Is it possible to keep it safe at all? I always buy a frame, a passepartout and glass to make it safe and beautiful. With all these it will look just the same as an oil painting - stable and strong! Passepartout (a specially cut cardboard frame) makes the whole painting more spacious and beautiful, but to choose it you should find a passepartout of a colour matching the colour of the painting. It should not be too bright either, because in this case you will look at the passepartout and not at the painting! Glass is not absolutely obligatory for watercolour artworks, but I would strongly advise to cover the painting with glass. The reasons: maybe the artwork was painted on cellulose paper, in this case it is not waterproof - dust is a big enemy of paper, so even if you live in a village with almost no dust after some years it still becomes dusty - sun light has its impact on watercolour paper, so after some time it may become yellowish, show a "vintage" effect.
Nowadays there are various production techniques to keep the paper safe even in direct sunlight, but a few years ago it was not like this. And maybe your artwork was painted not on such a sophisticated paper (this fact does not make it less valuable or beautiful). So - for me, glass is a must have. If you want to enjoy your artwork with no reflections, chose anti-glare glass, which is a bit more expensive, but you can see the difference. Or - you can buy a museum glass and enjoy a complete no glass effect and deeper 3D feeling - believe me, you will NOT SEE the glass even standing in front of your artwork!!! The artworks in this post are painted by me.

Follow me on Instagram