All of my original artworks are made with the highest possible quality art supplies and lightfastness. After the painting has been completed and signed, two final layers of varnish are applied to protect the artwork from the accumulation of dust and dirt.

Avoid or limit direct sunlight.
Exposure to intense sunlight can drain the color from almost anything, including your new favorite print or artwork. Avoid hanging your artwork anywhere where it will receive regular doses of direct sunlight.

Pay attention to humidity.
The amount of water in the air can have a huge impact on the overall health of your art. Make sure to monitor the humidity level in your home and, ideally, keep it around 55%. You can track your home’s humidity with a simple hygrometer.

Watch your hands.

Always avoid directly touching your paintings without wearing cotton gloves. If you do, you risk damaging them by exposure to your fingerprints and natural oils.

Dust—don’t clean—your paintings.

If you have a unique painting that’s not behind glass or acrylic, don’t use any cleaners or solvents on the surface to clean the artwork, ever. Instead, just lightly dust off the artwork with a sable brush. Do not attempt to clean the surface by using solvents or cleaning products of any kind. Cleaning liquids may embed the dirt into the artwork and cause permanent liquid lines over the surface. In fact, it is discouraged to use any liquid, including water, to clean the surface of your artwork. Never use dry or moist dust cloths, stiff bristle brushes or feather dusters to clean an artwork as threads can catch on areas of raised paint and dusters can scratch the artwork. Avoid spraying any fresheners, polish etc. directly onto a painting.

Don’t leave your art in a tube.

If you’re not ready to hang your art or print yet, definitely do not leave it rolled up in a protective cardboard tube. You always want to store your art flat.

Keep your stored artwork separated.
When you’re storing multiple works of art, always keep something in between each work while they’re laying flat. Place a 2- or 4-ply rag or conservation matboard cut 2 inches larger than the artwork in between each work. This will help protect the artwork from acidic damage, curling, and potential creasing.

Store art in a cool, dry, dark place.
Pantry rules apply when you’re trying to protect unframed artwork. The best way to avoid damage from sunlight, humidity, and temperature fluctuations is to keep your art somewhere cool, dry, and dark.

Don’t

Do not allow any rigid object to press against the front or back surface of the artworks as this could create permanent indentation damage. When storing or transferring, take care to protect the artworks from becoming dinged or dented. When it becomes necessary to handle or move an artwork, avoid touching the surface or the back of the artwork. Do not apply any kind of pressure (even finger pressure) to the back of an artwork.

It is not advisable to place the artwork above a heat source, such as a fireplace. In addition to the damage caused by radiating heat, dirt that rises with the heat may cause damage. It is unadvisable to hang artworks in a moist environment such as a room which has a bath or shower. Rapid environmental fluctuations will be harmful to the painting.

Ultraviolet light should be kept away from the artworks as fugitive dyes and colorants used in paints will eventually discolour under exposure to this type of light. The fading of pigments and dyes will affect the colour balance of the artwork.

Do
Do use compressed air in a can to blow away surface dust. Keep the bottle straight to avoid the liquid coming out. Another technique involves using a dry soft sable brush to lightly brush the surface in order to dislodge dust while holding a vacuum cleaner, off the surface, to capture and remove debris. Use a delicate brush to gently remove surface dirt from your artwork. Be careful not to bump or scratch the painting. If the paint is damaged in any way, avoid dusting altogether.

The best type of light for your painting is indirect sunlight, recessed lighting, and halogen lights (not ultraviolet).