Should You Unstaple An Original Painting For Shipping?

if your ordering a print here, get it unwrapped. i wouldn't unwrap something, you never know what it will look like on the other side. i think there was a kit you can get that can be broken apart, but i don't remember what that was because i don't paint.

technically you can take apart anything. its the putting it back that's harder. (i would assume).


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Yeah, unfortunately that is why original prices are high like around 500.00 on up. To ship a large painting a price tag of 3000.00 on up because you have to account for those shipping costs. I don't ever remove my painting from the boards. It's important to increase your prices if you don't want to pay the shipping.

Thank you for pointing out a very important step in pricing one's art. That shipping cost is very high.

Lynda,

I would make sure, that the buyer is aware of the choices.

As for me, when I purchased an amazing painting, a 30" x 24" masterpiece,months ago, by one of our own, Leah Saulnier, I was very happy I received it as it was painted...Once unpacked it went immediately on to the wall.

I'm convinced, if it had come rolled, it still would be rolled, standing in the corner.

Collapsible Canvas -- lot's less to ship, easily popped back into shape at customer destination.

http://www.geniecanvas.com/


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

its not a big deal...take the canvas off the stretcher, roll it face out--not face in--so the image is exposed outward. Roll it a hard tube, or build a wood coffin-like rectangular crate, and seal it up. 24 inch by 30 inch is small. I've rolled 4' x 5' canvases, thickly painted, crated them in wood boxes. No problems occurred. The cost was still about 75 dollars but to ship the painting that large stretched would have exceeded $1000--more than the painting.

I had sent larger painting (42"x36") from Toronto, Canada to Mexico which packed it a cardboard box with bubble warp it was only $120 by UPS, I would suggest to check with UPS or FedEx before you decide on um-stretched the painting. .

Mike Savad, Lisa Kaiser, Roger Swezey, Dan Turner, Kenneth Agnello, and Alfred Ng...thank you for taking the time to answer my question! Your insight is appreciated and extremely helpful! Dan Turner, I had not heard about Genie Canvas and wish I had known about it before I started my recently completed commissioned work. I'm not sure if this is the correct way to acknowledge your help and my appreciation...I hope you all see this reply. :)

Here's another question...is it ok to not varnish the acrylic painting prior to shipping? And to ask the buyer to varnish it upon receipt? It seems to me that varnish during transit might be a problem. Or do I have it backwards? The buyer is happy to follow my instructions but I want to ensure the best results.

"Dan Turner, I had not heard about Genie Canvas...I hope you all see this reply. :)"

Lynda, I did and thanks. Genie may be the answer for future out-of-state commissions.

Another idea -- I have shipped rolled canvases to local framers for stretching and delivery/pick-up to out-of-state customers; that is generally less expensive for large pieces.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Dear Lynda

You medium might be an issue.

Acrylics and varnishes usually dry rigid so they have a tendency to crack.

It may work for you, and I have no personal experience of stretching and then re-stretching, to draw from I'm afraid.

However, if it was me, I would not do this with an acrylic painting, others may have direct experience which would be more helpful.

Instead I'd educate the buyer to the risks of cracking in transit and of cracking when re-stretched. If they couldn't afford the shipping, then I'd direct them to a rolled canvas print, which they can buy from this website.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Stevie :)

As a professional picture framer I see lots of paintings for re-stretching after shipping. The issue most don't think about or account for is that if there is inadequate extra canvas wrapped around to the back of the stretchers then the re-stretch of the canvas can be very difficult or impossible without loosing some of the image or in attaching additional canvas to the edges so there is something to grab onto in the re-stretching process (added costs). Many of the pre-stretched canvasses folks use today leave nothing extra for the eventuality of re-stretching unfortunately by the size 24 x 30 that is likely. So shipping it un-stretched may be sending your client art with unforseen additional costs in restretching. I'd advise against unstretching it and charge additional for shipping.

It could easily cost as much to re-stretch this size canvas without losing some of the image as for the shipping you have quoted.

Lynda,

As per my previous comments,

Have you apprised your client about the prose and cons with each method of shipping??

Lynda, this is an interesting thread for me as well.

I would like to add to David Randall's response. These days with all my originals, I tape around the entire painting and leave a space for framers to do their job right. I don't usually frame my work and it's ready to hang when the customer gets the original. Even so, many of my customers have framed my work after getting their painting because certain people love framed work. In the early days of my career, I painted my work all the way to the edges and didn't give the poor framers any room to work, the framers were the ones that called me to point out my flaw and now I take into consideration to leave them room.

This is for future work. There are lots of issues selling originals. Like Kenneth says, it's no big deal to take your painting off the boards, but be careful, I've ripped a few paintings. Three best friends was torn when I sold it and the buyer thought it was wonderful with the tear. I couldn't have been more horrified, however thinking back I've made every mistake and treated many of my works roughly, and marring them a bit. They survive shipping but it's best to bubble wrap them if you leave them on the boards.

These days, I send the painting bubble wrapped and in a painted box advertising my work online. It costs me at the very least a hundred dollars or more every time so again, I add that to the cost of my work.

I must say, I truly appreciate all the great feedback! I wish I had been using FAA's discussion board years ago! I'm so used to facebook that I automatically want to click "like" after reading each of your responses to my questions! LOL! But I do want to acknowledge your helpful input. Dan Turner, I must again thank you for directing me to Genie Canvas. What a wonderful invention!! I am feeling less comfy about dismantling my acrylic painting after the above responses and additional investigation. Plus, the buyer is willing to cover the high shipping costs (whew!). Steve The floating artist, I love painting with oils; however, until I acquire a more well-ventilated studio I am restricting myself to acrylics...lucky for me I also LOVE painting with acrylics! David Randall, thank you for your perspective. Your first-hand experience as a framer is very helpful and I would hate to disappoint my buyer with a damaged painting. His mother has been wanting someone to paint this particular painting for years and she is so excited to get it. Roger Swezey, yes, as I acquire more info and options I keep the buyer updated. He now wants me to ship the stapled, completed painting without dismantling it and is happy to pay the (high) shipping costs. I do think it is crucial to maintain open, clear communications at all times...I do not want an unhappy customer! :) Lisa Kaiser, I'm not sure I understand what you mean about taping around the entire painting. Do you use painters tape on the face of the painting (a border) as in a watercolor painting? I would like to know how you do your taping. Again, I thank you all for your GREAT input!! I wish I'd started asking questions on FAA years ago!

"Acrylics and varnishes usually dry rigid so they have a tendency to crack. "

Not true, acrylics are actually very flexible unless the artist used modeling paste and are actually less prone to cracking than oils. Here is a quote on the subject from the Smithsonian;

"Acrylic paintings are expected to develop cracks much less often than oil paintings because they are more flexible and can withstand much greater forces without breaking. However, cracks do form in acrylic paintings. "

David King, thank you for mentioning the Smithsonian. I had not thought to look there and found great info based upon your quote. However, they don't explicitly recommend varnishing an acrylic painting (I was hoping for a "right way only" explanation. I'm now a little nervous to varnish.

I believe it's more important to varnish an acrylic painting than it is an oil painting, however I wouldn't use a solvent based varnish, they can yellow over time. I'm a believer in keeping it "all in the family" when possible, the paint, mediums and varnish I use are all made by the same manufacturer and are designed to work together. The reason it's important to varnish an acrylic painting is acrylic paintings are porous, therefore pollutants such as dust, smoke, fragrances, etc make their way into the "pores" of the painting and eventually make the painting dingy and once that stuff is stuck in the pores it's pretty much impossible to restore the painting to "like-new". Varnishes are designed to seal the painting so those contaminants can't get inside the paint itself.

Dear David

Thank your for clarifying this.

My inexperience with acrylics is clear here.

I stand corrected.

My acrylics never behaved the way the text book told me, so I gave up and only do oils now.

Smithsonian talks about some causes of cracking with acrylics, which explains why mine cracked.

So, after muddying the waters a little, with my limited experience on the subject, may I apologise and share this link about how to preserve acrylic paintings, from one of the top conservation galleries in London.

http://www.tate.org.uk/download/file/fid/4462

Lynda, I'm glad giving the customer more information helped them make an informed choice about un-stretching then re-stretching.

I think it's best I duck out of this thread as I'm not sure I'm helping.

Best wishes

Stevie :)

One thing to remember when reading the articles published by conservators is they are dealing with paintings created as many as 60+ years ago doing the infancy of the acrylic medium. Acrylic polymers have greatly improved since the early days of acrylic paint. Artists first used paint intended for other purposes that was never considered archival to begin with. As the plastics industry has improved and artist paint manufacturers got involved acrylic paint has steadily improved to the point where it's been generally considered archival now, but of course only time will tell for sure. Most acrylic paintings made within the last 30-40 years are holding up perfectly.

Stevie The floating artist, what an excellent resource! The Tate pdf file is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

Sorry, it took me some time to get back to you Lynda. Yes, I use painter's tape around all my watercolor and acrylic works to make my canvas smaller. Although I must add that most of my canvas' are larger. This forces me to keep my edges in check because a framer or two, I'm sorry to say, said I didn't leave them enough room to frame the entire or best part of my work which was either the top, sides or bottom.

My pleasure Lynda

Stevie :)

Lynda, did you get a price for shipping from your local Post Office, when I lived in the states I only used my local Post Office to ship my paintings, I remember once getting a price from the UPS store and it was $226, the same painting I got delivered from my local P/office for $38.
I would also not un-Staples the painting from the frame, you are then depending on the receiver to staple it back. this can be a disaster sometimes.