I have a painting that my Grandmother did about 50 years ago. It has a lot of cracking in the paint. How can I restore it and protect it from further damage. I don't think this is a DIY project. Where could I take this to get it taken care of at low cost? I was thinking maybe the art dept. at a college? Ideas?
Thanks!
2006-11-16 13:12:02 · 2 answers · asked by atom1968 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Painting
The trouble with art college is... and I speak from experience... the students are not taught much - if anything at all - about the materials they use, much less conservation.
Anything you touch to the surface of that painting - whether it is soap and water, varnish or what have you - will seep down through the cracks and UNDER the paint, then into/onto the support beneath. This could make the cracks much worse than they are now.
Conservationists charge a pretty penny for a reason - they know how to NOT make things worse. If someone says to you "I'll see what I can do" or worse, "I'll varnish it for you", run the other way.
Either let a pro fix it, or leave it be.
2006-11-16 15:10:27 · answer #1 · answered by joyfulpaints 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You might put colorless acryllic and burlap at the back of the painting. If you are concerned with any of the actual paint getting lost from the cracking and have to replace small amounts at a time, you may employ a trick used by those who restore very old paintings and that is to mix dirt from the floor into the paint, which will surmount the contrast in the paint.
2006-11-17 11:13:24 · answer #2 · answered by kasandra k 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋