Kathmandu:

Putting thoughtful and creative art works on the empty walls and empty spaces of our homes have become a common practice. We love to look at them, we love to collect them and we often cherish them. But, do we know how to take care of them?

The early human method of communication had been through cave drawings. Even though we have advanced so much from the early primitives, our taste for creative outlets remain-just the placement moved from the cave walls to our homes. So it’s now much harder to take care of them, whether be it art on canvases or sculptures.

Here are some tips to prevent them from damage:

• The number one common mistake people make is when they hang their art work in direct sun light. That’s the worst thing you can do to any artwork. With paintings, the colour will fade and with photographs, they warp and buckle. While using spotlights go for something under 60 watts. If one has to use a higher one to do so only occasionally. Placing the paintings at eye-level that is convenient for all heights compensates for spotlights.

• The second enemy for artworks is the humid weather. Paintings and photo-arts will wither away if they are not kept in dry places. The best way to seal off air is by having paintings well framed. Any art on paper needs to be professionally framed with a cardboard behind it.

• As the walls here have lots of moisture, placing plastic stoppers at the back corners of the frames allow a little space from the wall. This prevents the paintings from moulding.

• In case the painting does have moulds growing, the best thing is to take a dry, white muslin and dab it carefully. Some people say use soap and water DON’T.

• People often place paintings around air conditioners. This will also trap air inside the frame and damage the artwork.

• Wrap artworks in plain brown paper while moving or storing them. People always make the mistake of wrapping paintings in newspapers; this is not good as it has ink!

• As for any sculptures — ceramics or glass art — simply place them in places where people can’t easily knock them off and wipe with a cloth to clean them.

(Tips given by Sangeeta Thapa, art curator and director of the Siddhartha Art Gallery)