Q: I am in Bali and have found a great painting that is
already mounted, framed, and stretched. I want to roll it up for
transport on the plane but am finding differing opinions on whether
this can be done. Some say only stretched oil paintings can be rolled;
others say this is OK, but it will obviously need re-stretching when I
return home. Can you please help me?
A: Acrylic paintings are stretched the same way as oil
paintings and can be removed from their stretcher bars and rolled
safely into tubes for transport. If this is an artwork on paper,
however, it is much more fragile. You could remove the frame if it
bulky, but I would not remove it from stretcher bars because it could
easily be destroyed. After the frame has been removed, place the
stretched artwork in a protective portfolio that, hopefully, can be
placed flat in your suitcase. And yes, it will have to be restretched
when you return home. A good frame shop can do this for you.
--by Camille LaPointe-Lyons