A Run at Art Restoration

Several months ago, Flemming Toron, who has been a vendor at the market far longer than I, came to my booth and asked if I might attempt to repair a painting he had of his father.

After years of working with oil paint I have a reasonably good understanding of how they should be handled and the problems created if they are improperly applied. I had read about the basic dos and don'ts of restoration but had never attempted it. I told him that, if he was willing to take the risk, I would have a run at it.

His request prompted me to do more reading and on-line exploration where there are YouTube directions for almost anything imaginable!

After he brought the portrait to me, the most difficult part was simply to overcome my fear of making it worse and dare to begin. I suppose that is why I did not take a 'before' photograph before I started. The paint was cracked and

lifted and there were areas where it had completely fallen away from the canvas panel.

I started by keeping a palate knife heated by dipping it frequently in boiling water, drying it, and firmly pressing it over the edges of the cracks where the paint had lifted, to soften the paint enough to renew the bond to the painting surface.

The varnish the artist had applied had darkened and the challenge is to remove the varnish without further damaging the paint. I tried turpentine and mineral spirits without success. (sounds harsh but those products are among those recommended for the job!) Then, after a consult with the Owen's Gallery in Sackville, I tried isopropyl - rubbing alcohol. That worked! A small area at a time, a lot of Ruth's cosmetic cotton pads and I got rid of most of the varnish. Whew!

With some familiarity with portrait painting, it was relatively easy to match the colour palate used by the original artist for hair and flesh tones. I had touched up the face before it occurred to me to take that 'before' photo. By then, I was confident I was making an improvement.

I asked Flemming to bring the portrait back after the new paint had lots of time to cure - four to six months - so I could apply a new coat of varnish to enhance the colour and protect the surface. After he did that I applied the varnish and have now finally taken the 'after' photo, feeling relatively satisfied at the result.

I would welcome the opportunity to learn more about restoration and now would be a little less apprehensive about another attempt, so long as ir was not with a very valuable painting - but would still be sure to make it clear that a client would be taking a risk!