A Rainy Day in the Neighborhood

Well, there has been lots of wet stuff here today, and very little sun in the sunshine state. :) So, I decided to include in this post, some suggestions for protecting pencil portraits from the elements, and helping them stand the test of time.

For those who purchased a pencil portrait:

Keep your pencil drawing from water and direct sunlight.
Well, these are obvious! Water is a given, it will cause irreparable damage, and direct sun can speed the yellowing of your paper.

When storing, framed or not, keep in a climate controlled area.
Avoid putting any pencil drawing in a basement or attic where they can be exposed to high humidity or wide ranges of temperature. If you plan to store your portrait without a frame, put it between two sheets of clean paper, and then two pieces of stiff cardboard. This will protect the drawing from any bending.

When framing your pencil portrait, frame it with glass.
Many frames come with the clear plastic rather than glass. However, glass always works better for pencil, since it will never stick to the graphite.

For Pencil Artists:

Pencil artists most likely are familiar with how to protect their drawings. However, if you draw steadily like me, you probably are starting to get quite a collection of drawings. Sometimes it can be hard to find places to put them! I really like the storage options available at Dick Blick. I have bought some of their flat storage, and it makes it easy to keep drawings flat, out of dust and danger of damage. Really though, anyplace you can keep your drawings stored flat and out of dust, dampness, and sun will work fine. One thing you could do, is line a drawer with archival paper and store drawings flat there. Keep paper between drawings to prevent graphite or color from transferring.

I also like portfolio binders to hold drawings, since they protect and make a nice presentation. Although portfolios won't work if your drawings are large or of different sizes. If you would like to show your drawings, but don;t want to risk transporting and presenting the originals, or, if there are different sizes, as I mentioned, there is a solution. Scan your drawings into the computer, or take digital pictures of them. Then, use a graphics program like Photoshop to resize all the drawings to the size of your portfolio, and make prints of them. This way, you have a nice presentation book, but the originals are safe at home.

Hair Spray is for Hair, NOT Paper

I am a graphite pencil artist, and I am always disturbed by the number of people who suggest using hair spray as a substitute for spray-on Fixative. Step away from the can of Vidal Sassoon, and read on.

Most artists invest a lot of time and effort in their work. So, obviously you want to protect it from smudging and fading. This is especially important if you are working with mediums like graphite, charcoal or oil pastel. Believe me I understand wanting to do it cheaply. (Pennies often scream at the sound of my name.) However, you can get a can of Krylon Workable Fixative at Wal-mart for around 4 dollars. How much cheaper can you get??!!! It is a good product, so give it a try.

Do not risk destroying your art work with hair spray! It was not designed to seal or protect anything on paper, it is meant to be sticky and set hair. If you spray it on your work it could remain sticky and turn yellow. In other words, ruin your work!

Check out my websites:
www.pencilsandpixelsart.com - See some of my portraits here.
www.nihwebdesign.com

I will be updating my site with tons of articles on pencil drawing very soon. Until then, keep watching my blogs.