With careful handling, your artwork should be a lasting heirloom and investment.
Care of Your Art
General: artwork should be carefully handled from the edges. Large artwork on paper should also be supported from the back. Artwork of any type should never touch the glass or acrylic when framed, because the art could stick to the glass and be ruined. Artwork should not be exposed to direct sunlight, strong direct light, or sources of heat or moisture for any length of time. Artwork that has recently been finished should be handled with extra care for the first 30 days.
Artwork shipped in Poly Bags: do not let the seal of the bag touch the artwork!! It will stick to the art and ruin it -- I know, because I’ve lost a piece in an effort to recycle the poly bag. It is best to carefully cut open the bag when you are ready to frame the piece.
Oils on Canvas or Wood or Resin: are shipped to you when dry enough to safely ship. Complete drying may take months, depending on the thickness of the paint. I do not use drying agents in my oils. Oils need to breathe and if you frame your oil, do so without glass. Oils are usually not matted. I use Damar varnish or Kamar varnish to seal my paintings. The surface of the painting may be gently wiped with a dry or slightly damp cloth to remove dust. Do not spray with dusting cleaners.
Acrylic on Canvas or Wood or Resin: follow the above instuctions for oils. Unlike oils, your acrylic will be completely dry when shipped. I usually seal them with varnish or a satin fixative.
Oil or Acylic on Mounted Canvas: a bit of extra care should be taken with these. Should the art accidently become wet, the cardboard or heavy paper the canvas is glued to is not as stable as stretched canvas. I would consider making an exception and framing them with glass or acrylic.
Photos and Prints: Some of my early prints/photos were made using DURABrite® ink, which Epson® claims will last 85 years under normal use. I am now using an Hp professional giclee printer to make my prints and photos. I use Hp Premium Plus paper for the photos, which Hp claims will last 105 years. The prints of drawings and paintings are printed on achival matte finish fine art paper or Kodak matte finish photo paper and will also have a long life. The photos/prints also resist smuding, fading and water. Your photo or print should be matted and framed with glass or acrylic.
All other 2-D Artwork: all other artwork should be matted and framed. Artwork with pastel or charcoal should be framed in glass, as the static in the acrylic could attract the chalky particles, regardless of the fact that it was sprayed with a fixative. I use matte and satin fixatives to prevent smudging and finger prints. Please note that the fixative does not make art waterproof.
Resin: The surface of the sculpture may be gently wiped with a dry or slightly damp cloth to remove dust. Do not spray with dusting cleaners.
Cold Cast Bronze: Bronzes may darken with age. The surface of the sculpture may be gently wiped with a dry or slightly damp cloth to remove dust. Do not spray with dusting cleaners. Polyurethane- bronzes that have been sealed with polyurethane do not require any special treatment. Waxed or Clear Sealer with Wax -bronzes that are sealed with wax would like a recoat once a year. A sample of the wax used will be sent with the bronze. I’ve been using Johnson’s Paste Wax, but you can also use Moser’s Paste Wax or Trewax. Generally, the directions are like waxing a car. You apply a thin coat of wax with a paper towel or soft cloth. Let it dry to a haze. Buff it with a soft towel or clean shoe brush (residue from other polishes on the brush could stick to the bronze). If there is any white residue, the shoe brush will buff it out. You could also use a clean soft tooth brush. Do not apply the wax to highly glossed parts of the piece like an eye.
Can I touch a bronze piece? Unlike most art, yes! It’s part of the experience. I wouldn’t suggest rubbing it like a worry stone, but you can run your fingers over the surface.
ACEO Display Ideas
ACEO (art trading card) Display: there are some special considerations for ACEO’s, since artists usually design them edge-to-edge. You may keep 2-D art cards in art trading card albums (first photo). All of my cards come in polysleeves, which should be left on the cards if you plan to leave them in a decorative basket or box (middle photo) for display. This would not be a good option if you have small children or pets who might chew on them. I store my 2-D ACEO’s in a file box with a lid (photo on the right) until they are sold. I keep my 3-D resins flat in boxes until sold. For matting and framing, you can follow the instructions above or see the special options below. Keep in mind that you do not want the art to rest on the glass, since it could stick to it. If you’re never going to reframe it, that may not be a problem.
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3.5x2.5 Frames: They are irresistable for ACEO’s. Thick ACEO’s or collages may not work with these. You will lose some of the image under the frame, so if that's a problem, you will have to consider another option.
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In order to create an air space between the glass and the artwork, cut tiny strips of cardboard or cardstock. Because my frame was tightly assembled, I used 90lb. Stonehenge paper. I chose black in the event that the strips were visible from the viewing side (you should try to prevent this). Using a scrapbooking glue pen, apply glue around the edges of the glass and press the strips onto the glue. |
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Clean the glass. Window wipes remove excess glue. Buff dry with a paper towel. Insert the glass into the frame so the strips face the back. Place the artwork onto the strips. Attach the back. |
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Finished! |
Larger frames with Mats: here you are going to float the ACEO in the center of the mat opening to retain all of the ACEO image. With a really large opening, you group several ACEO’s.
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Cut a piece of cardstock, mat board or decorative paper the same size as the mat. Hinge the backside of the mat to the good side of the cardstock with tape (white artist’s tape preferred) for stability. I used acid free products because they are archival. |
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Place your ACEO (without the trading card sleeve, of course) face down on a clean hard surface. Use a very small amount of removable adhesive putty (made for paper, available where craft and framing supplies are sold ) to form 5 tiny balls. Flatten each one between your fingers and carefully press them onto the back of the card as shown. Take extra care with cards that are charcoal, pastel or have other delicate materials which could come loose. |
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Fold the mat and backing together. Center the ACEO in the opening and carefully press it onto the backing where each adhesive blob is. You may want to place a piece a piece of tissue paper over the ACEO to protect it while you are pressing. When viewed from the side, the ACEO should be below the level of the mat. If the ACEO is thick, you may have use a double or triple mat so the ACEO is below mat level. |
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Clean the frame glass. Place the matted ACEO in the frame, attach the frame back and you are done! Should you decide to remat your card later, the removeable putty should allow you to remove it from the backing, which may be easier to do with the aide of a knife. I did notice that the putty left a bit of a white residue on the softer dark colored papers, but as long as the putty is archival and meant for paper (ie, not oily) it will not affect your image. Removeable foam will also work, but it may be too thick for a single mat. |
Shadow Boxes or Display Boxes: A final idea for framing ACEO’s is to place one or more in a deep frame, which might be called a shadow box, display box or display case. You could then be creative an add other objects in the case. Shown to the right is a grouping of 4 ACEO’s attached to an archival piece of watercolor paper with sticky removeable foam. There is about 1" between the ACEO’s and the glass.
How to Display Your ACEO Sculpture:
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With a resin hanger: This option comes free with some resins as described in the listing. I will glue it in place for you. Also, I can glue the hooks in place at no extra charge and you can add your own ribbon or string. Some resins are too thin for me to drill the holes at the top. Bronzes are too heavy for this. |
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Card Holder: I make these in vertical and horizontal formats. They also work for oil and acrylic paintings. Drawings, watercolors, photos and prints should be kept in their trading card sleeve for display or the card holder should be placed in a curio cabinet. |
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Plate holder: Very small plate holders are available through craft stores and work perfectly! You could also use a miniature easel. This also works for paintings on wood. |
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Frame it: You can use removeable putty or sticky foam to attach the ACEO to a piece of matte board, then place it in a frame without glass. You could also frame it with glass if you use a shadow box. Although I do not offer a framing service, some pieces maybe for sale already framed. |
These suggestions are for my artwork. If you have artwork from another artist, you should consult that artist about handling, since she or he may have prepared their art differently from mine. I use quality materials in my artwork. Should you have any problems or questions, please contact me.