My Artwork Filing System

I’ve talked about this subject before, but I’ve never done a post only on this. Having a great filing system as an artist isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential. Especially if you plan to be making art for years to come. If you don’t already have a great system, hopefully this article inspires you to create one this year. It’s one of the best habits an artist can implement.

I don’t sell my originals, so I have A LOT of artwork in my house. Luckily, I’ve found an organization system that has worked for me over the years.

Here are the criteria for a good artwork filing system:

• It keeps your work safe

• It makes it easy to find old work

• It fits your lifestyle and space

• It feels simple and easy to follow

The questions to ask yourself when developing a system are:

• How big is your work? Storing sculptures is different than storing paintings. And canvas is different than paper.

• How much work do you have? And how much do you plan to make in the future?

• How much space do you have in your home? Do you need to find or rent additional storage space?

  It keeps your work safe

  The biggest enemies of art preservation are moisture, light and dust. If you’re able to protect your artwork from these three villains, you’re good to go. The way I protect my art from dust and water is by storing my artwork in sealable acid-free plastic sleeves. I usually put two art pieces in a sleeve and face the artwork outwards. That way, I can see both pieces.

  Then, to protect my artwork from light, I put these sleeves in black archival storage boxes. I have one box for every year. I recently upgraded the size of my boxes from 9x12 to 11x17, because I’ve been making bigger pieces lately.

  For convenient storage, your plastic sleeves might be the same size as your boxes, but they don’t have to be. I tend to mix and match sizes, depending on the size of the artwork.

  It makes it easy to find old work

  I use a label maker to put the year on each archival box. Some years, I’ve had too much artwork to fit in one box, so I created an A and B box. These boxes are pretty compact, so I store them in a trunk in my studio.

  My 2023 box is on an easily accessible shelf, so I’m reminded to follow my system year round.

  With these yearly boxes, finding artwork hasn’t been a problem for me in the past. I can usually remember what year I made a piece. This is my eighth year of making art, so remembering is starting to become a problem.

  This year, I’m going to make a catalog list of what’s in each box (and the order it’s in), so I can quickly find pieces. When I was regularly posting I social media, I could use my feed as a guide for what year I made something. I’m not regularly active on social anymore, so this is no longer the case.

  It fits your lifestyle and space

  The simple system I outlined above works for me and my art. However, everyone’s workspace and art are unique. One system does not fit all. If you make art that’s different than mine, I’d encourage you to ask an artist (who makes similar work as yours) what they do to store their art. I’m sure they’d be happy to answer your questions.

  If you have very limited space, maybe selling originals could work well for you. Donating some of your work to a charity is an option as well.

  It feels simple and easy to follow

  No matter what storage method you choose, this is probably the most important factor to consider. If your system isn’t simple, you won’t stick to it, making your efforts pointless. You don’t need a museum-level system. You just need something that works for you and your art. In my experience, simple is always best.

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So how do you store your art? Do you have a good system? Let me know in the comments below.