I recently received an email from a reader who wanted to know how to clean an oil painting on canvas as there was a slight accident at her home involving her children and some milk.  I did not want to respond directly and ask her exactly what had happened but to be honest this question of how to clean an oil painting on canvas comes up a lot more than people might expect.  I was going to write a whole report on how to do this and offer it up as a bonus for subscribing to my blog but I think it would be best to just explain the three steps below:

Step 1 – How to clean an oil painting on canvas – Asses the damage

First off you want to figure out exactly the level of damage done to the oil painting and then begin to asses exactly what is cleanable what is not.  Essentially at this point you will be doing damage control as if the paint is flicking off you will have a real disaster on your hands!  If the buildup is just say from dust or pet hair you can take a small baby toothbrush and very gently brush it off the oil painting.  AND I MEAN VERY GENTLY!

Step 2 – How to clean an oil painting on canvas – Gather your tools

Next up if the baby toothbrush did not clean your oil painting pick up some mild detergent and clean off a small amount in (hopefully) conspicuous place and that should do the trick.  If the mild detergent does not work then the problem with your oil painting on canvas could be a little deeper than a surface distortion.

Step 3 – How to clean an oil painting on canvas – Bring out your bread and vacuums

Yeap that is right I told you to bring out your vacuum with a pet attachment and go to town on it.  Be very gentle and this should pull up anything left over.  The very last thing you can do, if you are experimental, is get some bread out and wad it into a doughy type substance (bear with me).  Very gently rub the dough on the stain or spill and this should clear it up.  (the bread is a last resort)

So now you know how to clean an oil painting on canvas.  If anyone else has any suggestions go ahead and leave a comment letting me know and I'll post it up here.

Often times I get asked why would you want to purchase a replica of a well known painting if people will immediately know that you have a copy in your house and not the original and to that I usually answer it depends.  Most of the time I choose a oil painting on canvas replica because of its famous appeal and genuine quality.  Think about it for a minute – do you really want to buy a piece of original art from some unknown, unheard of artist who may or may not have even painted it?

With oil painting on canvas replicas you are assured to get exactly what you see on purchasing and piece of mind that it is of the highest quality, assuming you are buying from an art dealer.  When I talk about replicas I mean true to form replicas from reputable dealers and not swap meet, back of the van art slingers.  These replicas will probably be of lower quality and more often printed on a home inkjet printer – stay away!  Check out any one of our sponsors on the site to find reputable places to buy true oil painting on canvas replicas.