I tinker with drawing, thought I love it with a passion. I am new to this site and am in Awe of the drawings here. I can only hope to achieve the levels of craftmanship.
I am self tuaght and extremely rough around every edge. I am not familiar with techniques or rules. I draw using mechanical pencils on whatever paper I can find...Unfortunately I have found this to be a terrible thing. Some of my favortie drawings are "dying" They are fading away and yellowing with premature age.
Help! how do I preserve the drawings I have and what am I suppose to be using?
Both places are an excellent source for finding out the basics such as what materials to use, as well as learning the not so basics like great "tips" for improving our passion....drawing.
It looks like you do some good stuff...its a shame you are losing some of it.
Good luck! And welcome to the board! Beth
"Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
Bill_Johnston
Member since Nov-9-02
143 posts, 5 feedbacks,
Dec-13-02, 12:28 PM ()
2. "RE: how to preserve?"
Welcome to the forum! Your tiger drawing looks really good. I am looking forward to seeing more of your work.
As for preserving your drawings, I will tell you what I know. Your choice of paper has alot to do with how well your drawing will hold up. Make sure you are always using a good quality paper that is clearly identified as "acid-free" While this won't eliminate yellowing with age altogther, it significantly minimizes it. Also, any drawings constantly exposed to light (e.g. on display) need to be behind glass. I'm not sure, but I think some glass is better at filtering UV rays that others (the UV is what causes the problem). Maybe someone more knowledgable than me can chime in here.
Also, make sure you protect all your finished drawings with some sort of fixative. This basically seals the graphite/charcoal particles in place and protects your drawing to a certain degree against smudging. I use an aerosol product called "Workable Fixatif" that is commonly available in any art store.
I hope this has helped
Bill
Bella
Member since Sep-13-02
347 posts, 4 feedbacks,
Dec-13-02, 01:05 PM ()
3. "RE: how to preserve?"
Hi SGBear.......Welcome to the forum
I like your tiger drawing and I'm looking forward to seeing more
I recently went to a couple of photo framing shops and asked them the best way to preserve a drawing.....Bill has basicly covered everything they told me... sorry I can't tell you more.
He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist. St Fancis of Assisi
absolute
Member since Aug-24-02
895 posts, 12 feedbacks,
Dec-13-02, 04:40 PM ()
4. "RE: how to preserve?"
nice drawing WELCOME to the forum. that is true about the acid free paper...i have one drew on acid free computer paper that is older then two others..and it looks just as white as the day i drew it...i thought it was because it was in a frame ...but i have another just as old in a frame,and its getting pretty yellow.
If you are asking how can you stop the drawings you have from deteriorating further, I'm not sure there is a lot, if anything you can do. As has been mentioned, It's the acid in the paper.
Maybe some museum web sites have restoration and preservation information on them, it may be worth a try
Someone else here may know something I don't, it's not too difficult a task, believe me
