Areas of cracking, loss, or other instability in the paint or ground layer are consolidated using an adhesive appropriate to the medium and future treatment plans. Consolidation can involve heat, weight, suction, or can even be applied in a spray.

Surface cleaning can be a dry method (as seen above) where eraser crumbs or sponges or other dry materials are used to remove layers of surface grime or accretions.

Surface cleaning can be a wet method (as seen above) where pH adjusted aqueous solutions, sometimes with additional chelators or enzymes, are used to remove surface grime. In this case, a small swab on a toothpick is used because of Pissarro’s painting technique.

Removal of a discolored varnish or surface coating can transform a painting. Varnishes naturally discolor over time and can completely disguise the true colors of a painting and, at the very least, throw off the balance of a composition.

Removing a failing lining canvas is done with the painting face down and carefully pulling the lining at an acute angle at the diagonal.

Tears in the canvas require mending to restore canvas tension. This can be accomplished by adding fibers and bridging, reweaving existing fibers, or creating a patch or insert. In the image above the tears are repaired by adding fibers and using heat-set adhesive and dental tools under magnification.

If a canvas has multiple tears or is structurally compromised, it is sometimes necessary to line (adhere) the canvas to a secondary support. This secondary canvas will be stretched onto a stretcher.

Filling a loss provides a level and properly textured surface for proper loss compensation before inpainting. Here I am filling with a mixture of Kaolin and rabbit skin glue. The raking light helps to highlight the texture of the panel so that I can carve the fill to match.

Inpainting is used to visually integrate areas of paint loss, cracks, discoloration, or unremovable surface accretions. The goal is to match the surrounding paint color and texture perfectly so that the damage becomes invisible to the viewer. This is a fully reversible step; we exclusively use specialized conservation-grade materials that have a different solubility than the original paint layer, ensuring the artwork is always protected.