CONSERVATION MATTERS
Painting Conservation & Restoration 
Clare Herbert | MA Conservation | BA (Hons)
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To contact Clare Herbert, telephone +44 (0) 1453 886 445

Conservation Matters is based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK
About the services provided
structural repair of tears and losses
cleaning of tears and losses
restoration of losses of areas of paint
technical analysis to increase knowledge
collection management including surveys, advice on care and implementation of treatment schedules
Detail of flaking paint STRUCTURAL REPAIR Even the most severely damaged paintings, that seem beyond saving, can be repaired so that the painting can once more be appreciated as the artist had intended.
  • Consolidation of fragile and flaking paint
  • Repair of structural damages, including tears,
  • Lining (i.e. strengthening of a weakened and degraded support with a further layer of material)
  • Strip-lining (i.e. strengthening the edges)
  • Preventive conservation: fitting of backing boards, conservation framing

 
Yellowed varnish being cleaned off CLEANING The appearance can be seriously affected by the accumulation of dirt over time. Also, if the painting is varnished, the ageing varnish itself darkens, yellows and looses transparency, thus details and subtleties in the image are lost. The overall effect results in a flatter, duller image, where definition is lost, and colours deadened. Any cleaning is carried out only after thorough testing to confirm that the painting can be cleaned without affecting original material and after careful examination of the artist's technique.
  • removal of dirt and varnish layers
  • removal of old restorations
  • re-varnishing using reversible resin

It is often surprising and ultimately rewarding how a painting can come alive after removal of dirt and varnish.
Retouching a painting RESTORATION
  • use of reversible medium and dry pigments
  • reconstruction of lost elements
  • reconstruction of texture
 Colours and texture are carefully matched so that restorations are invisible. In accordance with professional ethics, retouching is limited only to areas of lost or disfigured paint, and can be removed in the future.

 
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Further specialised tests can be commissioned to further inform about a painting. It is usually a series of different types of examination that allows conclusions to be drawn about an aspect of a painting.
Before and throughout treatment the painting is examined with the naked eye, with the aid of magnification and with ultra-violet light. Information can be gathered about the artist's techniques and about previous damages and restorations. They aid decisions on treatment procedure. Diagram of a cross section of a paint sample

The client can be advised about certain tests, and what conclusions can be drawn from their results.

 
Recording a paintings's condition COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

The care of a collection of paintings can be managed through survey, monitoring, and advising on optimum conditions for storage, travel and environmental control.

Collection management is really a form of good housekeeping practice in that it can anticipate problems, minimise causes of deterioration, and implement a strategy for care of the collection. Environmental conditions such as the effects of central heating, lighting and pollution are all causes of deterioration in a painting. Their effects can be minimised starting with simple measures such as strategic re-hanging or lighting. Further measures, such as relative humidity control, can be implemented to further minimise the rate of deterioration.