Stretching and Storing Paintings

24 Feb 2009

Q: I paint in oil and live and travel all over the country in our motor home. I now paint with canvas taped to a board and leave enough canvas around the image for stretching and framing afterward. Is my method OK, or should I stretch the canvas on stretcher bars and then remove it for storage? I am currently rolling my paintings (paint-side out) for storage. Is this OK, or should I store them flat?

A: Storing completely dried paintings flat with protective sheets such as parchment or wax paper between the paintings should not damage your paintings. In terms of painting on canvas taped to a board, I am concerned with the possibility of the painted canvas becoming damaged when it is stretched. You may want to consider painting on canvas boards (some are archival).

--by Camille LaPointe-Lyons


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