Internship with Project MEAC, the Maine Project for Fine Art Conservation July 13 2012 – December 2012
My goal for this internship was to learn all steps involved in restoration of art works that were done in oils on canvas, linen and board. Also I was interested in all aspects of operating an art related non-profit organization.
Bonnie and Domenico Matozzi established their reputation in Portland Maine as high quality art restorers. They have a large client base and they are constantly pursuing new clients. New art works to be restored come to their studio regularly.
Bonnie and Katrina inspect, test and write an estimate for a client.
Studio space
Dirt build up is removed from the oil painting surface with restoration soap and distilled water using a cotton swab. If there is any old varnish it is removed with acetone.
My job was to remove glue build-up from the back of a painting, to make it as even as possible to be mounted on a new support, Belgium linen. I did that by re-wetting the glue with warm water and scraping it off with a blade.
Removal of gray ground from the back of the canvas by wetting small areas and scraping them with a blade.
Fragile canvases need to be faced with Japanese rice paper to make them stronger before work can be done on them.
Katrina is applying rabbit skin glue on Japanese rice paper.
A boy on a pony is being faced
canvas is still attached to the original stretcher bars with the original nails
squares overlap each other about 1/8″ -1/4″ without creating too much bulk
Fragile old canvases need to be mounted on new supports.
new vacuum heat table is being used for mounting a painting on linen
extra fabric around the edges makes it possible to stretch linen over the custom made stretcher bars
new tacks, folding fabric
finishing touches on the back of the painting
Portrait of an young man restored
When there is paint loss on the painting, the surface is brought to one level before the in-painting can be done.
Katrina is applying water soluble Spackle on the areas that are going to be in-painted
the fill is scraped with a flat blade to bring it to the same level as the painted surface, then the surrounding area is cleaned with water
a painting with some blue tape markers that indicate where the in-painting needs to be done
one of my favorite paintings there that was cleaned and restored
Not only the old paintings are being restored, contemporary art by Alyssa Monks from a local gallery had some minor damage.
Restoration of paintings by Albert Herter
First canvas out of 3 was restored. A custom stretcher was built to accommodate the unusual shape of the painting.
The edges of the painting were deteriorating. Instead of mounting the whole canvas on linen, the restorers decided to reinforce the edges with specialty fabric.
All three paintings are restored and ready for First Friday Art Walk on December 7, 2012
Bob Keys’ studio visit and his article in Portland Press Herald
Bob Keys is very interested in the operation of MEAC
Interviewing the owners
Katrina and Aubin evaluate a painting’s condition for the interview
Aubin White, another USM intern, and Bonnie were very articulate during the interview.
Looking at the facing I did
Katrina is working on three paintings
Filming of the video
This video was filmed by a Portland Press Herald staff photographer during my internship.
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The view from the studio window.