How to Care for a New Oil Painting

When purchasing or obtaining a freshly painted oil painting, it is very likely that it has not truly "dried" yet. Oil paints can take between a few months to a year to "dry" despite feeling dry to touch. Therefore, let's make a distinction between these two states of dryness:

Dry: being dry to physically touch (taking a week to a month).

Cured: being dried chemically (taking several months to a year).

Although determining if an oil painting is physically "dry" or not, is relatively easy; however, determining if an oil painting is "cured," is a little trickier. Provided that the painting is dry to touch, there are a four major considerations in caring for your painting:

1. Uncured paintings are damaged more easily, especially in the early stages of curing.

In the early stages of curing only, you can physically feel the difference between a cured painting and an uncured one, as the uncured painting will feel, "soft" almost rubbery. (Please don't test this by running your fingers across a new painting that you intend to keep, the painting is very susceptible to damage, even rubbing off color if the painting has just dried). Therefore, keep in mind that you want to protect your painting from being scratched, rubbed against, or from rubbing off color (such as touching or using a regular cloth). When dusting any painting, use a soft cloth, feather duster or lightly forced air to dust with as paintings can still be scratched after they have cured.

2. Oil paintings require oxygen to cure.

Oil paints cure through oxidation, and how you store the painting will make a difference in curing times. Therefore, closing it in a case with no ventilation, or placing it right up against a sheet of glass when framing, will greatly slow your curing times. If you wish to use glass with a frame, ensure that you have at least 1.5 cm or about inch of air between the glass and the painting. This might slow your curing time but it will at least cure and protect it from being scratched.

3. Uncured oil paintings can be light or dark sensitive.

Since curing an oil painting is a chemical process, some pigments will react to extremes in lighting. As with any painting, avoid hanging it in sunlight or near bright halogen lights as it will fade; however, only during the curing period (of up to a year) should you avoid keeping it in the dark all the time. From experience, I've found that keeping a freshly painted oil painting in a dark room for the curing process caused the white pigment to yellow. The closer the painting is to being cured, the less dark sensitive it will be; therefore, when it is cured, it is no longer dark sensitive and no longer an issue..

4. Never use any varnish or any liquids of any kind (at least) until it is cured.

During the curing time, or the first year to be safe, leave the painting alone from anything liquid. Liquids of any kind, especially solvents can react, even ruin your oil painting, even when cured. Please research the topic thoroughly on items to use in protecting your oil paintings, and do not test them out on your painting until after they have cured. Keep in mind that some chemicals will still react with a cured oil painting or soften the oils and ruin your painting.

Finally, keep in mind that with proper care, an oil painting will virtually last forever. Photos typically will not, even acid free photo paper will eventually age, oxidize and become brittle over time. With care, oil paintings can remain pristine for centuries and hopefully become family treasures to be passed onto your descendants.

If you have an interest in creating family heirlooms in the form of oil paintings, or are interested in learning more about the accomplishments of the author, please visit my website: www.artzmark.com

Thank you for your interest in this topic.

Marc Eliuk

BA. B.Ed. C.H.

Marc Eliuk is an artist, teacher and herbalist. Years of painting oil portraits have produced astonishing work and Marcs talent is on the up and coming in the art community.

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Posing the Subject For a Portrait Photograph

This article aims to highlight some simple methods for finding a suitable poses for any subject, and focuses primarily on a head and shoulders portrait of a single sitter.

Shoulders

When the shoulders are square to the camera, they will appear artificially broadened, and give the portrait a very static look. It is usually best to position the subject so that the line of their shoulders is about 30 to the the subject/camera axis. The easiest way to do this is to sit the subject on a chair placed at an angle of 30.

Use a chair without arms, because the subject will automatically use them, and this tends to make clothes ride up, affecting the shoulder and neck lines. The best shoulder line is produced when the hands are placed in the sitter's lap, or the far hand place on their knee (the idea here is that the near shoulder should always be higher than the far shoulder).

Depending on the subject, a good pose can be obtained if the subject sits facing away from the camera (i.e. back to camera with shoulders still at about 30 to the the subject/camera axis), and looks back over their shoulder.

Head

When the shoulders are at 30 to the the subject/camera axis (facing the camera), the head can rotate through an angle of about 100. The head can also be tilted either side of the vertical axis. The exact degree of rotation and tilt will depend on the subject, and require some experimentation (and you may need to adjust your lighting) . If the head is turned too far, it can produce unsightly neck wrinkles.

Generally, very formal portraitures are produced when the axis of the facial features is vertical (i.e. it is not tilted to either side). This is often a good option for more mature subjects.

Tilting the head to either side creates a diagonal axis to the features. This suggests movement an vitality, and is often best for younger subjects.

If the subject has a weak chin, get them to tilt their head back a little, which will make their chin stick out. If they have a strong jaw, have the subject tilt their head forward reduce its prominence.

Care needs to be taken with 3/4 portraits (i.e. the face is at an angle of about 45 to the subject/camera axis). The tip of the nose should not coincide with, nor cut through the profile of the cheek.

Eyes

The eyes are the most important element of a portrait. They should not be looking down, unless you wish to convey thoughtfulness or any other emotion (e.g. coyness, sadness, etc).

Eyes looking directly at the camera is usually the best option.

Take care when photographing eyes that are not looking at the camera. This creates a sight-line (a line that the viewer's eyes follow), which can lead the viewer's eyes out of the picture. The best option here is to include a little more background, so that the subject's gaze falls within the frame.

Smiles

Genuine smiles are hard to capture. Avoid big grins and grudging smiles. Some people smile easily, while other rarely smile at all. Go for a natural expression, be it serious or smiling, and remember, true feelings are expressed by the eyes!

Camera height

The optimum camera height for portraiture is at about the same level as the subjects eyes. Raising the camera height a little about eye level can cause the subject to open their eyes a little wider.

Conversely, dropping the camera height a little below eye level can add height and dignity. Experiment. If taking a head and shoulders portrait, you don't need to read any further.

Hands

Hands can be included in a head and shoulders shot, but are difficult to photograph because they can easily look like a bunch of bananas. They should not be nearer to the camera than the face, or they will be too prominent. Hands turned sideways with fingers extended look elegant.

If including hands, try and give them somewhere to rest, or something to do (e.g. holding a prop).

Arms

If forearms are to be included in the shot, they should not form a vertical line. Ideally forearms and hands should point towards the face. However, watch for changes to the shoulder line, as raising a limb can also raise a shoulder (the near shoulder should always be higher than the far shoulder).

Multiple subjects

The single most important objective is to connect the subjects in some way (e.g. looking at each other, touching heads, etc), otherwise they might as well be photographed separately.

Avoid heads in a row, and gaps between the subjects. Make one head higher than the other(s) to create a triangular composition. Two heads inclined towards each other also forms a triangle.

Footnote: There are circumstances when these "rules" may be broken, but the intention of this article is to convey simple guidelines applicable to most situations.

Portrait photography from a Portrait Artist's perspective. Portraits by John Burton

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