In Brief
Oil paintings are a beautiful medium for conveying a sense of location. That said, there will be times where paintings fade or otherwise deteriorate over time. In this particular case, this oil painting of a small coastal community’s boat dock is crumbling. The paint has lost adhesion to its canvas and is flecking off in thousands of small chips. The dire condition of this piece necessitated a multi-step process for Heritage’s staff to ensure the painting would survive for many more years.
Project Video
In Depth
As stated above, the paint was falling away in flecks and chips from the painting’s canvas backer. After an examination, our staff determined that the best method to prevent the paint from further deteriorating would be to seal the paint to the canvas using a particular type of varnish. First, the painting needed hundreds of touch ups to recreate the missing sections of paint on the canvas. The houses, boats, water, and sky all received fresh paint in the same colors as the original in order to make the scene more seamless.
After the touchup work was completed, the painting was moved to our refinishing room. Here it was coated in the clear sealant that will serve as a bonding agent to both protect the surface from dust and dirt, but also it will hold the painting onto the canvas. With this work complete the painting will survive to continue serving as an enjoyable landscape, or rather oceanscape!
Let's Connect