Restoration of Paintings

The restoration of paintings is an activity I enjoy very much and have worked at consistently for the past 15 years.  I became aware of the need for quality, affordable repair and cleaning of paintings during my association with several frame shops. People would come in with paintings that needed attention but in most cases did not need the much more expensive intervention of a conservation studio.

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Working with simple tools and conservation-minded products, I strive to respect the surface and image at hand.  The goal in each project is to remove the damage in the most necessary way possible and leave no trace or as little as possible of any intervention.  It is a great pleasure to me to see a painting come back to life!

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In my experience, paintings most often need cleaning and repair of tears. Dust accumulates over the years or the varnish yellows over time.  They often get damaged in some way—a tear develops or the paint chips off.  Many paintings have a combination of issues and in most cases these can be remedied.  Each project is a unique situation and requires an individual solution.  During consultation with the owner, I present what I think is the best course to take and an estimate of time and cost.  I listen to the owner for what their wishes are and together we arrive at a plan of action.  I have made it my specialty to take on what sometimes seem like hopeless projects to restore hugely damaged paintings.  The challenge is interesting to me.  I have also on occasion realized the work in question is beyond my scope and really needs the services of a conservation studio, in which case I am prepared to make recommendations.

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Here are some examples of projects I have worked on in their before and after states (for enlarged version, click on the image):