Their is never a dull moment in the life of an artist. Throughout the year I often get asked if I take commissions. The answer is almost always yes. Usually it is a portrait of a loved one, a painting of a family home or pet but this month has been an extra treat for me. I was invited to Craigtoun park to take a look at a painting that was created in 1961, to see if I had any advice on how to fix the holes and brighten up the painting. I stressed that I am not a professional restorer. The professionals train for years but I had a look and saw that the oil painting was created by an Amatuer artist in a naive style and I knew that I would be able help. The painting was created on some kind of MDF which is never a good thing, as over time it has warped. However it still looks fantastic and gives an historical account of what Craigtoun used to be like.
Here is the wonderful painting of Craigtoun park. You can see from the photo that it is quite dark with dirt , grime and the varnish layer on the sky was quite yellow. There were also a number of scratches, scores and a number of medium and small holes. I first gave the painting a good clean with a lint free cloth and artists cleaner. Then used some varnish remover to take off a layer of varnish. I filled the holes and then it was down to painting a new layer of sky. The paint layer on the sky was quite thin and had a good texture for adhering more paint to its surface.
I left most of the greenery untouched as it was it quite good condition. I did a few touch ups with the trees and stairs.
Here is the finished painting. You can see how much brighter the painting is. If you are interested to see it in person, it can be found at Craigtoun Park Cafe.