How to travel with wet oil paintings
I’m booked into a 5 day workshop with artist David Dibble at the Artable Winnaleah Arts Festival in Tasmania in January. To say I’m excited is an understatement. Not only do we have one of the world’s living oil masters coming to Australia but we get to paint and absorb knowledge for 5 days straight in one of the most spectacular places in Australia! But…amidst all that excitement is a little bit of apprehension because, …well I’ve never flown to an art class before. And I’ve never had to deal with transporting wet oil paintings before. So I’ve asked around, done some research and found out what most artists are using. And I’m sharing my results with you, outlining all of the options including DIY and budget friendly (with a little bit of effort) to convenient off-the-shelf solutions you can order online today:
How to transport wet oil paintings - the options:
All of the methods I have researched involve placing paintings wet-paint side in, with a spacer in between. Of course, when travelling interstate or overseas, you want to paint on light-weight substrates, so think canvas board or thin marine ply. Ideally a bit of tape around the boards will add extra support and prevent them from slipping around. I’d even suggest wrapping them in a plastic bag for the flight home as well, to keep everything oil-paint free.
DIY cork/cardboard spacers
This solution is simple, cut some cork stoppers from wine bottles into thin pieces, or use some cardboard pieces. We’re looking for about 5mm thick. Place one in each corner of your wet painting, with wet painted sides facing inwards. Yes, you will need to touch up the paint where the cork/cardboard has been once you get home.
Cork method as explained by Lori McNee
To me, the idea of this is great, but the cork pieces are so large you’re going to have to touch up your paintings a LOT once you get home. So I would suggest mimicking this idea but using something smaller in size or chopping your cork into smaller pieces. Duct taping the corners of your panels together should create enough tension to hold the spacers in place.
Purchase wet panel separators
These wet panel separators for artists are purpose made, look great and are available in a range of sizes to suit different panel thicknesses. They’re also relatively cheep at around $9 AU for a pack of 4.
Panel separaters from Westerly Arts on Etsy
If you prefer to paint on stretched canvas, there is also this style of painting spacer available.. Just ensure your canvas width matches the spacer size.
Canvas spacers available from Tooyful on eBay
Purchase an Allaprima Art Panel Carrier
These look awesome but are a little on the pricey side at around $80-120 AU on Etsy. I do wonder whether you are limited to a certain size panel.
Panel carrier by AllaprimaArtCarrier on Etsy
DIY bulldog clip spacers
This is a very neat little trick and the one I’ll probably use. The only downside is the space in between panels appears quite large, so it may take up a lot more room in your luggage than the specifically designed art panel separators.
I hope these suggestions help you get ready for your next ‘en Plein air’ painting session (painting outdoors), whether that be interstate, overseas or alongside me at Winnaleah!
Anne x