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. Here are some photos of the process before, during, and after. The final results were wonderful to see.
Don’t try this at home folks, you’ll most likely do even more damage. This takes schooling and experience, of which we have many years. We often can’t believe what some online tutorial videos say to restore a painting. In some cases it will ruin your painting permanently. Please, if you need something restored, write or give us a call.
Painting before any restoration
Painting after the re-lining – this is an extra canvas added for support
Painting after restoration. We stretched the new canvas on new wood stretchers and had the painting framed. It was beautiful.