• The transfer of cultural heritage to the highest bidder, or a difficult sacrifice of lesser works to save the larger collection? Talk amongst yourselves. (You should probably read the article) #coffeeTalk
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    The transfer of cultural heritage to the highest bidder, or a difficult sacrifice of lesser works to save the larger collection? Talk amongst yourselves. (You should probably read the article) #coffeeTalk
  • I have nothing interesting to share this morning. That said I know that it’s part of the social media game to keep on posting so that the algorithms view you favorably and you can get your numbers up etc. blah blah blah so in the spirit of completely useless posts just to stay relevant I offer my quick five minute fix for a broken belt holder for my landline phone. The one on the left didn’t break but the one on the right did and because I’ve had these phones for over a decade I just can’t bear to throw them away; they work, why replace them. Five minutes a piece of bent aluminum and two rivets and I’m back in business. This phone will definitely be making an appearance in my next video which should be coming up on the 21st
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    I have nothing interesting to share this morning. That said I know that it’s part of the social media game to keep on posting so that the algorithms view you favorably and you can get your numbers up etc. blah blah blah so in the spirit of completely useless posts just to stay relevant I offer my quick five minute fix for a broken belt holder for my landline phone. The one on the left didn’t break but the one on the right did and because I’ve had these phones for over a decade I just can’t bear to throw them away; they work, why replace them. Five minutes a piece of bent aluminum and two rivets and I’m back in business. This phone will definitely be making an appearance in my next video which should be coming up on the 21st
  • Sometimes when executing retouching one has to take cues from the rest of the painting. For this portrait the entirety of the forehead needed to be recreated due to massive losses. On the right side you can see the first round of retouching. The color matches but it looks a bit too new and thus stands out and reveals itself as retouching. On the left you can see the results of the second round of retouching. I’ve added some “dirt” and imperfections to better mimic the rest of the paint on the face. This little addition makes the left side of the forehead blend in better and allow the viewer to understand it as just part of the painting. And for those concerned that this type of retouching is hiding the conservators work, well a black light will make it all visible. Oh, and it all wipes off with ease too.
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    Sometimes when executing retouching one has to take cues from the rest of the painting. For this portrait the entirety of the forehead needed to be recreated due to massive losses. On the right side you can see the first round of retouching. The color matches but it looks a bit too new and thus stands out and reveals itself as retouching. On the left you can see the results of the second round of retouching. I’ve added some “dirt” and imperfections to better mimic the rest of the paint on the face. This little addition makes the left side of the forehead blend in better and allow the viewer to understand it as just part of the painting. And for those concerned that this type of retouching is hiding the conservators work, well a black light will make it all visible. Oh, and it all wipes off with ease too.
  • Linseed oil. It’s an amazing thing and every lover of art, artist and the entire linoleum industry have it to thank. It is the traditional body of oil paint and it does that phenomenally well. What it does not do well is act as a varnish. Linseed oil will oxidize and cross link and eventually harden and darken. For this reason it’s not a suitable varnish. Removing linseed oil is largely an equation of the age and thickness of the oil, the stability of the underlying paint and the exposure to uv light. It can be removed and in this video we can see a relatively young oil (under 10 years old) being removed from a painting from the 1920s. The oil swells with exposure to petroleum solvents and as the solvent evaporates the oil becomes soft and can be lifted off the surface with cotton swabs and balls. Of course, testing to ensure that the painting can tolerate exposure to the solvents is crucial and if it’s not stable then the removal may not be possible without the use of lasers which is usually not financially possible for most clients. The video is a bit sped up so that it could fit into the 1min limit for a post.
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    Linseed oil. It’s an amazing thing and every lover of art, artist and the entire linoleum industry have it to thank. It is the traditional body of oil paint and it does that phenomenally well. What it does not do well is act as a varnish. Linseed oil will oxidize and cross link and eventually harden and darken. For this reason it’s not a suitable varnish. Removing linseed oil is largely an equation of the age and thickness of the oil, the stability of the underlying paint and the exposure to uv light. It can be removed and in this video we can see a relatively young oil (under 10 years old) being removed from a painting from the 1920s. The oil swells with exposure to petroleum solvents and as the solvent evaporates the oil becomes soft and can be lifted off the surface with cotton swabs and balls. Of course, testing to ensure that the painting can tolerate exposure to the solvents is crucial and if it’s not stable then the removal may not be possible without the use of lasers which is usually not financially possible for most clients. The video is a bit sped up so that it could fit into the 1min limit for a post.
  • It’s Labor Day here in the USA which means than most of the country isn’t working and relaxing. If you aren’t working and feel like watching me work, head over to YouTube to eat he the second and final part of my most recent video. 😁
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    It’s Labor Day here in the USA which means than most of the country isn’t working and relaxing. If you aren’t working and feel like watching me work, head over to YouTube to eat he the second and final part of my most recent video. 😁
  • An oldie but goodie. It often seems like there’s a debate about what retouching method to use to achieve the best results. There are many different approaches in many different theories about how much the conservator should retouch and in what manner. Ultimately however the final decision must be made in accord with the client’s wishes. That is, if the client wishes the image to be unified and the conservator chooses a method of retouching that does anything short of that, it would be considered a failure regardless of how good the retouching is. For this painting of dogs in pursuit the client wanted the whole to “disappear “and as such I chose a method of her touching that seeks to do just that. If a future owner decides that they want a different approach well, they are free to choose that and luckily the retouching paints that I am using our fully reversible so undoing my work will not pose any problem.
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    An oldie but goodie. It often seems like there’s a debate about what retouching method to use to achieve the best results. There are many different approaches in many different theories about how much the conservator should retouch and in what manner. Ultimately however the final decision must be made in accord with the client’s wishes. That is, if the client wishes the image to be unified and the conservator chooses a method of retouching that does anything short of that, it would be considered a failure regardless of how good the retouching is. For this painting of dogs in pursuit the client wanted the whole to “disappear “and as such I chose a method of her touching that seeks to do just that. If a future owner decides that they want a different approach well, they are free to choose that and luckily the retouching paints that I am using our fully reversible so undoing my work will not pose any problem.
  • At any given point during a conservation there are many different choices that can be made. Knowing which material and what technique to employ comes with experience and while two paintings may look alike the procedures involved in conserving them may be radically different. In my most recent video I go into a bit more about why I choose this and not that, in fact that’s the title! So if you want to see part 1 in normal speed, head over to YouTube. 😁
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    At any given point during a conservation there are many different choices that can be made. Knowing which material and what technique to employ comes with experience and while two paintings may look alike the procedures involved in conserving them may be radically different. In my most recent video I go into a bit more about why I choose this and not that, in fact that’s the title! So if you want to see part 1 in normal speed, head over to YouTube. 😁
  • Wrapping up the week with a test window on a pair of that just arrived at the studio. Quite a different! Have a lovely weekend everyone, be safe and be well. Oh, and check YouTube on Monday morning...🖼🎬🎥
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    Wrapping up the week with a test window on a pair of that just arrived at the studio. Quite a different! Have a lovely weekend everyone, be safe and be well. Oh, and check YouTube on Monday morning...🖼🎬🎥
  • The retouching process is arguably the most fun and difficult part of any conservation. While it’s exciting to literally reassemble the image and make the damage disappear, it’s also the thing that the viewer will see first. All of the structural work is hidden and often behind the image yet the image itself is the whole point. If the retouching isn’t spot-on then no amount of other work will matter to the viewer. This painting of a canal had a pretty nasty compound tear and required a lining to stabilize it. After cleaning and filling in of the missing paint the retouching starts. This is by far the easiest type of retouching; lots of fluid brushwork, tons of different colors, impasto and a visually active area. All of these factors make it really quite easy to retouch. This little bit took about 15mins and just like that, the damage is gone.
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    The retouching process is arguably the most fun and difficult part of any conservation. While it’s exciting to literally reassemble the image and make the damage disappear, it’s also the thing that the viewer will see first. All of the structural work is hidden and often behind the image yet the image itself is the whole point. If the retouching isn’t spot-on then no amount of other work will matter to the viewer. This painting of a canal had a pretty nasty compound tear and required a lining to stabilize it. After cleaning and filling in of the missing paint the retouching starts. This is by far the easiest type of retouching; lots of fluid brushwork, tons of different colors, impasto and a visually active area. All of these factors make it really quite easy to retouch. This little bit took about 15mins and just like that, the damage is gone.