Art-Restoration and Conservation.   page1   page2

 Testing: Every part of the process starts with testing.

 The anatomy of a painting begins with the "support", which is mounted on a stretcher frame.(made of pine) this support is usually cotton, linen canvas, or board, and is the support for the "ground", which is the primary surface for the painting. This is a paint called gesso, and the more modern acrylic gesso. The paint (artist quality acrylic ,or oil ) is layered on top of this ground, and built up to the final picture, using various solvents and mediums. There are variations of this anatomy, the most notable being the use of animal glues as a sizing for the support, to which a layer or two of lead white is applied for the ground. Gesso may or may not be present between these layers, and there are various formulas for gesso. All these variations are why we make tests before we do anything to a painting. Learning the hard way can get expensive.    

Cleaning:

    Every painting that comes into my shop gets some level of cleaning. The "once over lightly", is just part of the process, and is also the most ideal. The balance point established by restorers for a "heavy cleaning"(very soiled painting), has become the 1 hr./sq.ft., rule of thumb. A cautious approach, but you can't dawdle either. I question some of the over cleaning that I have seen while browsing the internet. I like to err on the side of caution, less is more. A lot of older paintings simply need some of the old varnish removed, and then some new vanish to revitalize them. Unvarnished older paintings tend to oxidize and the surface becomes dull. Cleaning and varnishing will bring back the luminosity of the paint

Repairs: Lining, plugging, repainting, varnishing, etc. 

    All kinds of things happen to paintings, water damage, smoke damage, perforations, scuffs, scratches, rips, just like any physical object. Fortunately most damage can be repaired. I have a good collection of artist quality oil, and acrylic paints and all the most modern ingredients and materials to make the damage to your painting disappear. There are some guidelines here (established by the trade) based on criteria such as historical, or monetary value, that should be considered and effect the plan of repair.

Lining, or gluing the painting to a new canvas and re-stretching it, is a last resort usually to repair a hole that is too big to fix any other way. I use the state of the art glues and techniques to make these repairs. Done properly this can really save the day, and can solve some very serious problems that occur, from time to time.

Varnish:

    The dominant varnish for oil painting for many years is Dammar Varnish. Combined with various proportions of wax, and solvent, it is applied as a final varnish to produce different degrees of a gloss, or matte finish, thus unifying and protecting the painting's  surface. Dammar does yellow over time however, so I use a modern Archival MSA (mineral spirit acrylic) varnish made by Golden. It offers 100% UV protection, is fully removable, and comes in matt, satin and gloss, so I can get it just right.