Painting Restoration Gallery
A few examples of recent work in the studio.
Briar Court : Frederick Jackson
Canvas Frieze 75ft x 2ft
Analysis
This large scale canvas mural was installed at listed building Briar Court in Huddersfield. The mural was rather dirty from years of an open fire and there were numerous paint splats and rips and tears as thepainting went round many corners.
Due to the nature of the damage it deemed best to remove the mural and complete the restoration work at the studio.
The canvas was quite brittle in places and needed careful packing.
Planned Approach
The painting was carefully removed from the room and a number of tests were carried out to remove the soot staining. Once the staining, dirt and grime was removed the correct solvent solution was made to remove the original thin varnish layer.
Patches and retouchings were performed in the studio and then a protective acyrlic varnish was used to protect the painting further. The mural was carefully installed back in situ. The whole process took approximately 6 months.
Testimonial
"We were glad to have Bloomfield Art recommended to us when we were looking for someone to clean and repair the frieze we found in situ when we bought Briarcourt. We could see that it was very dirty and had sufferered rips and household paint splashes over the course of more than a hundred and twenty years.
James' patient, painstaking work has transformed the frieze and the room in which it sits. We are thrilled that details we'd never been able to see before have been 'magically' revealed; and the painting really sings now whilst retaining an appropriate sense of age.
We also appreciated James keeping us abreast of progress as he worked and the insights he shared about how the artist had originally approached the painting.
We'd have no hesitation in recommending Bloomfield Art to anyone looking to have an artwork restored."
Vicky and Duncan Briar Court
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Large Genre Painting of Man and Boy
36" x 40" Oil on canvas
Analysis
This painting was in sound structural condition there were no rips or tears or areas of paint loss. The painting had discoloured varnish and a thick layer of Nicotine staining.
The Gilt frame was also in need of a clean and the client requested that the face of the frame be re-gilded as some of the gilding had begun to flake or had been cleaned away.
Planned Approach
The painting was removed from the frame and a number test were carried out to remove the nicotine staining. Once the staining was removed the correct solvent solution was made to remove the varnish that had discoloured. This process took a number of weeks.
The frame had very dirty top and bottom rails and facings, the whole frame was cleaned first to remove layers of dust and grime.
Once cleaned the slip and the face of the whole painting was gilded in 23.5 ct Gold leaf. A number of tonal washes were applied to the frame to match the original patina of the frame.
Portrait of the Duke of Bridgewater
30" x 20" Oil on canvas
Analysis
The painting was damp and had mildew in several places. The canvas had several rips and tears and numerous puncture wounds.
The canvas had a large vertical scratch accross the front of the painting.
There were also several areas of extreme paint loss due to the damp environment.The stretcher bars had left an impression accross the face of the painting and the canvas was badly cockled.
Planned Approach
To remedy this we allowed the painting to dry out in a controlled environment. We then wax re-lined the canvas to a new piece of canvas to secure the rips and re-attach the areas of loose paint. The painting was then carefully cleaned to remove the years of dirt and grime that had been allowed to accumulate.The holes were filled and the areas of missing paint were painstakingly colour matched and restored.
The final stage of the restoration was revarnishing, this was done in several thin layers to allow a protective layer to build. The finished painting was re-framed and now hangs in a private collection
Large Landscape Painting of Grouse
38" x 24" Oil on canvas
Planned Approach
To Restore this Landscape painting we fastened a new piece of Linen to the back using the vacuum table and Wax /Resin. This gives the painting its structural support. With this many Rips and tears it is impractical to patch the canvas an maintain tension once back on the stretcher.
Once relined we could carefully begin to fill the areas of paint loss to match the surface of the existing paint. This was done in several layers to maintain a perfect match using traditional fillers.
The filled areas were then re-touched taking time to colour match the missing paint and fully restore the landscape to its former glory. Once reframed, it was securely fastened using double D-rings and extra durable picture wire.
Analysis
This Large Oil Painting had hung happily for several years until it decided to leave its happy hanging place and fall onto three crystal decanters. The decanters being of the finest quality left quite an impression on the painting.
As you can see there are several rips and tears and a large area of paint loss on the bottom mid section of the picture.