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Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
We frequently deal with fire-damaged artworks and it is entirely possible to treat paintings that have been affected by soot and smoke. Our aim is to collect the artworks as quickly as possible, carry out the restoration work, and return them home when suitable to do so. We’ve set out our steps to follow below… Read more »
Case Studies, Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
Moving house can be a stressful time for anyone; this experience was made even more difficult for one of our clients after their artwork was damaged by a removal company. Two highly cherished and sentimental paintings were substantially damaged – this was even harder to see after they had been entrusted to a company for… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
Accidental damage to oil paintings comes in many forms; spillages and stains on artworks are very common and can happen so easily. For many of our clients, the damage is not of their own doing but has instead happened while renting out their home or while work has taken place. Examples of substances we have… Read more »
Case Studies, Guides and advice, How to ..., Useful articles
It is always a privilege for our team to be able to preserve items which have special historical significance. This was the case recently when we restored a 1940 army beret that was in need of cleaning and restoration. The beret is very special to our client, who wished to have a sympathetic restoration focused… Read more »
Frequently Asked Questions, Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles, Watercolour
An interesting question we are often asked is ‘Which paintings are the largest and most complex you have restored?’. When we receive a 7ft by 3ft painting into the studio with tears and in need of lining, it’s an exciting challenge for all of our team. But the other end of the scale can be… Read more »
Frequently Asked Questions, Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles, Watercolour
For many art collectors, the worst-case scenario for the condition of their artworks would be if they were damaged through water, fire or a bad accident. Unfortunately, such incidents do happen and requires the need for artworks to be removed from the scene promptly and safely. We are always able to suitably package such items… Read more »
Frequently Asked Questions, Guides and advice, How to ..., Useful articles, Watercolour
It is always a fascinating source of interest for our clients and art collectors to see how we repair watercolours and works-on-paper. It is understandable to assume there is little or nothing that can be done to fix such fragile items. Although these are naturally delicate items, repairs are still possible and very successful. So… Read more »
Frequently Asked Questions, Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
It can sometimes seem very obvious why an artwork needs restoration. If a painting has a tear, you know it needs repaired. Or if an artwork is so dirty you can no longer see specific details, you know it needs cleaned. This is indeed correct, but when a painting arrives into our studio, instead of… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
If your painting has a tear, puncture, hole or areas of missing canvas, the damage can be very obvious and hard to hide. We refer to such issues as problems with your painting’s structure – which means any damage to the canvas itself. Damage to a painting’s structure prevents the artwork from being fully supported… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
What is ‘strip-lining’? If you follow art restoration and conservation, it’s likely that you will have had the term ‘lining’. Lining is the addition of a second canvas to a weakened original, to provide reinforcement and stability to an artwork. (You can read more about the process of lining in our helpful article detailing why… Read more »
Our latest case study explores the restoration of a mid 19th century watercolour seascape, one of a pair and an original Luigi Renault of the Consul Kestner schooner. Our client came to us rather concerned and discouraged after an antique expert concluded that it would be difficult to treat the painting. The issue with our… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
Every painting we work on in the studio has a unique identity. Whether it’s a signature we find while cleaning, an interesting note on the back of the canvas, or a clear sign of where part of an artwork has been painted over, there is always something of interest that tells the story of a… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
Last week, we received an urgent email from one of our clients. Their painting had been stored in a cardboard box, waiting to be unpacked when an accident left flooding in their home. The cardboard understandably did nothing to protect the artworks, and our client was very distressed. So what should you do if your… Read more »
When an oil painting becomes water damaged, its appearance can change dramatically. This was especially true for Mrs Pownall’s family painting after it was damaged by a flood through a ceiling, while being stored under a bed. Before the water damage occurred, there was some discolouration on the sitter’s face, which can most likely be… Read more »
Frequently Asked Questions, Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
Whether cracking or flaking paint has caused losses or severe craquelure has altered the appearance of the painting, many artworks that arrive in the studio require treatment caused by cracks in the paint layer. One such type of damage that we have recently treated is tenting paint. When the paint cracks, the layer lifts into… Read more »
Ceramics, Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
One of the most common types of enquiries we receive in the studio is for items that have been damaged in transit. Whether that enquiry originates from a client who has moved their artworks to a different address, or for a gallery owner who was preparing to show fragile ceramic pieces for an exhibition, unfortunately,… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
Painting conservation occupies an interesting position between science and art, and the fusion of creativity and chemistry is witnessed in the studio every week. A more recent example we’d like to share with you concerns an oil painting with multiple areas of flaking paint and paint loss, repaired using an interesting technique. As you can… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles, Watercolour
How to protect paintings from smoke and fire damage As part of our disaster recovery services, we regularly receive fire and smoke damage paintings into the studio. A proportion of these paintings have sadly been damaged in house fires, in circumstances beyond the owner’s control. For many other oil paintings and works on paper that… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
Every week, we receive panel paintings into the studio for treatment. The conservation work we carry out ranges from repairing cracks and holes to treating flaking and lost paint. For nearly every panel painting we work on, the first stage of treatment is to conduct a clean. Just like with oil paintings on canvas, the… Read more »
Guides and advice, How to ..., Oil Painting, Useful articles
What is overpainting? When a painting requires retouching, we are careful to only ever apply conservation paints that have been precisely colour matched to the existing pigments of the artwork. We retouch the areas of an artwork where the paint is missing, for example through flaking or lost paint or after repairing a hole in… Read more »
