Come Rain Sleet Sunshine Or Snow

Extreme environments are not a good thing for

artwork. Living by the sea with salt air and high humidity

will tend to make paintings on paper bow and bubble

creating a distorted aspect. Canvases will lose their stretch

after prolonged exposure to humid climates. If you live in a

very dry area this is a bigger problem because dryness can

cause the natural moisture in canvas to evaporate and the

canvas or the paint on it to start cracking.

If you live in an area where differences between the

heat of day and the cold of night vary significantly, keep

your artwork away from all windows. The extreme

temperature changes felt next to a window will cause a

warping in the art where it will expand during the day and

contract in the evening.

If it's cold enough where you live to chap your lips,

it's cold enough to cause cracking in your canvas. If where

you live it's hot enough to scare Tarzan, the heat conditions

will expand your canvas and then when you come home and

turn on the air conditioning the canvas will contract, again

leaving you with a warped image. If you do have an

expensive art collection I would suggest setting your air

conditioning to a constant temperature between 75 and 80

degrees Fahrenheit.

The temperature in your home is where most of

the danger comes from, not so much dryness or

humidity, those have to be extreme like in Phoenix, Arizona

or Miami Beach, Florida for the dryness or humidity to

become issues. Heat and cold are the biggest enemies; as

long as you keep your home within cozy limits for

yourself, you'll find your artwork responds very well

to the same.