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Best practices for notations on finished work?
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Best practices for notations on finished work?
I started painting July 2025. I have kept detailed notes and a catalogue on my paintings in a journal, but I wanted to know best practices for what notations I should be writing on the backs of my finished pieces? I have completed 53 mostly oil (all painted on canvas – didn’t know any better) and now watercolor paintings (on various papers) so far and I have just collected the materials to put on the backings as outlined on this website (mat board, poly foam tape, and corrugated plastic sheets), then wiring for all of those paintings, so I want to do this right. I’d like to know what information to put on the backs, where to write it, and what best to write it in? I have searched YouTube, but so much conflicting information. I’d like to do this right the first time. I have no educational background or experience in any of these matters, just feeling and exploring the very strong urge to create! Thank you all in advance.
Also, not directly related, but close enough, … I think George mentions 4-ply matboard to use as the backing. Years ago I thought I would cut mat boards for posters and framed prints and I bought a bunch of high quality mat board from local art stores. I never used most of it, but it looks like 8-ply maybe? It has many more than 4. I’d like to utilize that mat board if possible. It was costly, and now that it has survived several moves it has been beaten up for its original purpose. Any issue with higher-ply matboard for use in the backing material sandwich of my paintings?
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6 Replies
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Stephen,
I am working on an article that provides detailed information on best practices for documenting artwork. I plan to have the article ready tomorrow.If you are discussing backing boards for canvas paintings, we recommend a dual system: a plastic exterior (e.g., Coroplast) and matboard on the inside, facing the rear of the canvas. It can be either 4 or 8-ply matboard, but it is best to use one that is acid-free (buffered).
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Thank you sir. I’m looking forward to that!
A follow up question – is there any advantage to putting some layers of ground (in this case, acrylic “gesso”) on the back of the canvas to help its stability and general durability? If so, I could start applying the same treatments front and back as a matter of procedure now before I go any further.
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We do not recommend applying any coating to the reverse side of stretched canvas paintings. Instead, the best practice is to use a backing board. There is an article about installing backboards on canvas paintings.
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Stephen, after you’ve taken steps to protect yr work, don’t forget to attach a “Certificate of Authenticity” to the back. This is appreciated by collectors and will aid “Provenance”. There are examples around the net, but it should at least include Title, Year, Medium, Dimensions, your name and signature. Nice additions could be a small color picture of the work, your web address and something similar to “This certifies an original artwork . . . reproduction rights retained by artist”. You can make 2 copies of this “Certificate” and keep one. Makes record keeping easier.
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Thank you, Jan, those are excellent suggestions. Do you have an associated suggestion for how and where to attach these to the back? Will they be screwed to the wood stretchers? In sealed plastic? Is there some standardized way to attach this certificate/photo/metadata so that it is durable and also a best practice?
-Stephen
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Stephen, I’ve seen provenance sheets glued to the protective backing so it can be read by just flipping the ptng around. Also, most artists I know will sign & write some brief info on the stretcher bar or back of solid substrate with a marker, this may or may not be visible depending on protective backing used. Also, if you flip some older ptngs around you may see a plethora of labels, glued to back if the ptng has been in a lot of shows or sold and resold often. Galleries like to afix their info to ptngs in their possession. Cheers, J
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