Posts made in 2017

Two 1840’s Oil Portraits Restored

Posted in Art Restoration, Picture Frame Restoration and Repair

Two 1840’s Oil Portraits Restored

This husband and wife set of portraits from the 1840’s were brought to us by a couple from the Southport area. The paintings had an interesting history and were ready for a much needed restoration. They were in oval frames with glass on top which was unusual for an oil painting, but as we looked into the history a bit it seemed clear that someone had cut the paintings to oval shape and simply placed them in frames with glass. The paintings were seriously embedded with years of ash, probably from a wood stove. The ash is acidic and did some damage to the portraits but it could have been...

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Smoking damaged painting restored

Posted in Art Restoration

Smoking damaged painting restored

This painting came to us very grimy and embedded with dirt, and smoke damage. The owner told us that this painting hung in a bar for many years back when smoking was allowed. It looked like someone painted a caramel color all over it. Here is a fun time lapse video of about eight hours of cleaning time, all into less than a minute. https://strazzagallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/PaintingRestoration.mp4.mp4   Finished restoration below: The painting came out really well, and looked like the artists original intentions were brought back to life, and the owner of this painting was...

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Baby chicks painting restored

Posted in Art Restoration

Baby chicks painting restored

This adorable old oil painting of baby chicks came to us in pretty bad condition. The canvas was extremely fragile. It had a pretty good size tear, and the surface was embedded with dirt. Beyond that it was probably in a room with a fire place or smoking, or both, which made for more damage. This painting absolutely need a re-lining because it was too fragile; it would not handle being stretched for framing. Re-lining is when we support the painting with a new canvas from the back. The cleaning, while delicate, went very well, and the re-lining gave extra support to strengthen the painting....

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Saying Grace painting restored

Posted in Art Restoration, Picture Frame Restoration and Repair

Saying Grace painting restored

This lovely little painting came to us, and it was entitled, “Saying grace.” It is a tiny painting about 5×7 inches. It depicts an older man sitting to a meal and simply saying grace. It is an old oil painting and it had some problems as you can see from the before picture. There was some chipping, and also a moldy film all over it. It needed a deep cleaning and in-painting. It was delicate, but it came out great. Lisa antiqued a new frame to give an age appropriate look; it is shown restored on the after photo below.    ...

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Historic Ship painting Restored

Posted in Art Restoration

Historic Ship painting Restored

This was an antique nautical painting that came to us with some patches on the back due to holes in the canvas. The paint was starting to crack, and it was quite dirty and in need of a total restoration, cleaning, and re-lining. Here are some before and after photos. We also replaced the old frame that came with the painting with a lovely gold frame that seemed more appropriate for the age and subject matter of this painting.   Painting framed, as we received it, before restoration.   Back of painting showing damage, and a couple of patches, before restoration.   Closeup of...

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Small photo restored and enlarged

Posted in Photo Restoration

Small photo restored and enlarged

This great black and white photo of a sailor with a plane came to us by a family member of the sailor. It is a small photograph, about 3×5 inches at most. It was very distressed and in need of restoration, but the customer also asked if we could also enlarge it. In this case the answer was yes, because it was so sharp. Here are the before and after photos. The final larger print was stunning, and made a great gift for this family. We enlarged it to 8×10 and it looked great. Before restoration   After restoration  

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Art Restoration – Serving North Carolina

Posted in Picture Frame Restoration and Repair

Art Restoration – Serving North Carolina

Painting and photo restoration in North Carolina, serving the Southport area, including Wilmington, St. James, Oak Island, Bald Head Island, and Myrtle Beach, and beyond. We restore oil paintings, acrylic paintings,and photographs. We also restore picture frames. We also restore watercolor paintings, but not in all cases. If you have a piece that needs restoration you can reach us two easy ways: 1. Call or write to us, and send some photos of your piece for a rough estimate. Give us as much detail as possible, and include sizes. You can then bring the piece to our nice (and private)...

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Cleaning an Old Painting

Posted in Art Restoration

Cleaning an Old Painting

This is from an on site restoration. I was hired by a company that specializes in church restoration to clean and repair these old paintings in a church in NYC. It was of course a huge on-taking. And, while you may not have paintings this big in your home (these are 6 x 18 feet) these do show what cleaning reveals with an older painting. Cleaning after a fire, flood, even after years of smoking is important to preserve your painting. Take a look at the results below; these show an amazing difference, and it was even finished yet.    

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Seascape oil painting restored

Posted in Art Restoration

Seascape oil painting restored

This painting came to us from avid collector in NYC. It’s a lovely painting, about 100 years old, that had an unknown history. This particular painting was very dirty, and probably spent a lot of time, years, over a fire place; but one never really knows. As you can see from our testing (first photo), that this painting really cleaned up nicely. We did a thorough cleaning, some in-painting where needed, and a final varnish. The result was significant, and a happy one for our good customer. If you have a painting or photograph that needs restoration in any way, contact us: Strazza Art...

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