Art on Newsprintby There is no need to shy away from buying or owning art on newsprint. In fact, since most artists use newsprint for warm-ups and quick or experimental drawings—especially in figure-drawing—many excellent, spontaneous, and interesting works of art are done on newsprint. As an artist, I like newsprint for its warm color and smooth surface (it comes in smooth and rough surfaces); as a viewer, I like the casual look of the media. And art on newsprint will last just fine with proper framing and care. |
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Thinking Man |
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It is true that newsprint is acidic. Therefore, it will darken fairly quickly at first, and then more gradually, eventually stabilizing. The aged color varies from a yellowish to pinkish beige—the hue of the color change is immediately apparent, and therefore can be anticipated in matting and framing. Since artists often draw on toned paper, I don't see much reason for prejudice against the color change. In the end, you own a nice drawing on toned paper.
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Stephanie Sleeping |
Stephanie Sitting |
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The other concern about acidic paper is that it becomes brittle upon exposure to the light; this happens quickly with newsprint exposed to sun. However, this is a mechanical problem that can be resolved by mounting the work on a durable, preferably acid-free backing. If this is properly done, and if the art is not handled continually—which most art is not—there is no reason to worry more about the mechanical failing of newsprint than of other art materials. In any case, no artwork should be hung in direct sun, which hastens the deterioration of almost all art media.
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Young Man with Dreadlocks I |
Young Man with Dreadlocks II |
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My own works on newsprint are exposed to a bright daylit room (but not direct window sun) for weeks or months before being stored in acid-free materials; therefore, the tone of the color change is already evident and will come as no surprise. The colors on this page are a quite accurate representation of the colors of the original works as they are now, so you can see that newsprint varies considerably in tone. The work "Stephanie Asleep" (below) hung on my wall for over a year before being stored, but did not darken noticeably. "Seated Nude in Ink" (above) is over 30 years old (in storage) and still not much darker than recent works, as you can see. In "Daydream" below, the dark tone of the newsprint is an asset.
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 Woman with Arms Crossed |
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The life span of even very acidic paper like newsprint can be greatly lengthened by acid-free framing, especially by mounting it to acid-free backing, because then the acids actually migrate OUT of the paper, improving its longevity, although the paper will still darken somewhat.
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 Lloyd |
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In framing a work on newsprint, one could use a white mat to set off the color, or use the color of the existing paper, so that as the paper darkens over the years, the mat will gradually become lighter than the newsprint but the same tone, which is attractive and conventional in framing.
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| Go to artist's home page, www.sharonhudson.com 2020 |
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