If you’re an artist or art lover, you know that your paintings are some of your most prized possessions. But you may not know how you store your artwork can have a big impact on its condition over time. Here are some tips on how to properly store your paintings and other fine art storage ideas.
How to Store Paintings
When it comes to art storage, the most important thing is making sure the canvas paintings or other artwork are not stacked or bumping into one another. Without any sort of wrapping or protection, they can easily be scratched, punctured, or become stuck together.
- Wrap Artwork
Wrapping your paintings in acid-free paper or bubble wrap will help protect the canvas from scratches, dust, and other damage.
- Use Storage Racks
Art storage racks are great for keeping your paintings and/or drawings safe from being knocked over or damaged by other items in your storage unit or home. You can find art storage racks online or at art supplies stores like Michael’s.
- Choose Climate-Controlled Storage
Extreme temperatures and humidity can cause damage to the paint or canvas over time. StorageMart and Manhattan Mini Storage offer climate-controlled storage units at most locations. You can check if the storage location near you does !
Art Supplies Storage
You don’t need to be as careful storing your art supplies, but there are still some general guidelines that will help keep them organized. If you’re an artist, you know that your studio or wherever you do your artwork can become a mess very quickly.
There are endless ways to organize and store your art supplies, such as using old mugs or a plastic pencil box. Below are a few that are cheap and easy to use.
- Try a Tackle Box
For those who regularly pack up their art supplies and move them around from place to place a tackle box is a great solution. There are many different compartments for your materials, and it even opens to display all of them for easy access.
- Set Up an Art Cart
You can find art carts at art supplies stores, online, or at home goods stores like Walmart or Target. They are a perfect way to organize all your supplies and be able to move them around at will. These are especially useful if you need to move it in and out of a storage unit easily.
- Use Jars
If you have some mason jars sitting around, they are a great way to store and organize different paint brushes, pencils, markers, etc. If you don’t, you can recycle old beer or soda glass bottles by cutting them in the middle and sanding them down. Here is a short tutorial, be careful!
Climate-Controlled Storage
As mentioned previously, storing your artwork in a climate-controlled storage unit is the best way to ensure extreme temperatures won’t damage the art. Also, if you are storing art supplies or documents, they can also be damaged by high or low temperatures. Check out our Self Storage Calculator to find the right sized unit and rent online today!