I was featured as an expert speaker this last week at the Laguna Arts Festival Lecture series (http://bit.ly/pVVE6C)where I spoke about general things to think about when protecting and saving collectibles, artwork etc. We talked about protecting and saving items from

• storage problems, http://saveyourstuffblog.com/damaged-art/poor-storaged-causes-damaged-paintings/
• taking precautions when shipping, http://www.saveyourstuff.com/blog/save-your-stuff/do-you-pack-and-ship-art-work-and-fragile-items/
• aging and falling apart, http://saveyourstuffblog.com/water-damage/liquid-stain-on-lithograph-of-a-woman-by-henri-matisse/
• floods and landslides, http://saveyourstuffblog.com/water-damage/plains-indians-encampment-water-damage-in-garage/
• fires, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lCx-xg4BMYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lCx-xg4BMY
• … and earthquakes; One of the things I talked about was having good hanging hardware on paintings and using Museum Wax to anchor the painting to the wall. http://saveyourstuffblog.com/earthquake/538/

Well, yesterday, someone’s disaster walked through my front door. A valuable vintage painting’s wire broke and the oil painting on canvas hit the edge of a table and here’s what you get… a 6 inch x 18 inch “L” shapped rip and flaking paint.

Damaged caused when the oil painting's hanging wire broke

The reverse side of the painting with the rip, caused by the hanging wire breaking

Remember, the weakest link in the chain is the one that breaks and causes the damage. The parts that ALL NEED TO BE REMEMBERED for hanging an oil painting on the wall are:

• Quality and large eye hangers that hold the wire.
• Thick wire, preferable plastic coated
• Nail in wall hits a stud. If not, use a multi nail hanger made for drywall.
• Use the largest hanger possible
• Use Museum Wax in the lower two corners to anchor the painting against the wall and so it won’t “jump” off the hook when things start to shake.

“Overkill” is the operative word here. Remember, you are designing this to withstand an earthquake… or your grandkids! You do the math; be a good curator of your collection or mishaps like the one in the photo above are $4,300.00 to fix perfect.

Questions” Call Scott at 805 564 3438

Art appraisal questions? Call Richard at 805 895 5121

Also see http://www.fineartconservationlab.com

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Cracking badly!

Keep art work away from heating vents that will cause cracking and flaking. (Same goes for active fireplaces), never use cleaning liquids on paintings,and last but not least, never try to clean painting with solvents.

 Careful inspections will help save flaking paint. If you find flaking paint, the best thing to do is call an art conservation laboratory for advice. There are emergency treatments you can do at home on most paintings. But it is still good to get some advice.

It is important to remember that we can save the original paint in almost every type of flaking condition. This type of preservation/conservation treatment preserves the original nature of the painting, helps the painting to retain its highest value and in the end will require less inpainting.

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Hard to see flakes knocked off by cleaning lady when dusting.

The photograph looks like it is in perfect condition without any cracks or problems evident. However in the trees to the left, there are 6 or 8 very small flakes of paint that are coming off.

These types of hard to see flakes are often knocked off when cleaning ladies dust art work.

Here are 3 tips to remember:

1. Keep art work away from heating vents that will cause cracking and flaking. (Same goes for active fireplaces)

2. Never use cleaning liquids on paintings.

3. Never try to clean painting with solvents.

Volumes of books have been written about damaging paintings by people trying to clean them. It is a very complicated process.

So back to our problems on this painting, careful inspections will help save flaking paint. If you find flaking paint, the best thing to do is call an art conservation laboratory for advice. There are emergency treatments you can do at home on most paintings. But it is still good to get some advice.

Feel free to call our office if you would like to discuss your situation. 805 564 3438

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Cracking of paintings and damage cause by stretcher bars.

There are 3 types of cracks of Fine Art that are directly related to stretcher bars.

First photograph shows diagonal cracking that will form in each conner, this cracking pattern is very common, and has been recreated in artificial aging tests which have confirmed that they form due to the expanding of the canvass and the ability of the stretcher bars to hold the painting properly.

Second photograph shows a cracking pattern caused by the painting touching the cross bar. This happens because the painting is loose and/or pressure is put on the front of the painting causing it to press against the cross bar, and/or could be the cross bar is not spaced far away enough from the painting.

Third photograph shows a vertical line that goes just inside and parallel to the edges of the painting, that may  or may not be visible on all four sides. Giving the above example the cracking caused by the cross bar. This cracking appears because of the contact with the inside edge of the stretcher bar, as you can see from the photograph this cracking can lead to flacking.

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Fine Art Conservation

Conservation questions? Go to www.fineartconservationlab.com

Appraisal questions? www.faclappraisals.com

For great stories, videos and tips see www.tipsforartcollectors.org (Free downloads, sign up for blog updates)

One of the biggest problems people have is to resist the temptation of touching an oil painting that is flaking. I have been amused to witness even the seasoned experienced collectors be rate themselves after they touch a flaking area and knock paint off.

The problem of people touching damage painting is the reason why, damaged art work should be removed from display once it’s damaged.

This photograph shows the worst type of judgement possible where someone has rubbed off the flaking paint all together.

Oil Paint Flaking

It is important to remember that we can save the original paint in almost every type of flaking condition. This type of preservation/conservation treatment preserves the original nature of the painting, helps the painting to retain its highest value and in the end will require less inpainting.

Questions about preserving collectibles, letters, certificates photos? www.saveyourstuffblog.com (Free downloads, sign up for blog updates)

Follow us on Facebook at (be sure to sign up as our friend!) :

Save Your Stuff  (Home)

Save Your Stuff From A Disaster (Office-Workplace)

Fine Art Conservation

Conservation questions? Go to www.fineartconservationlab.com

Appraisal questions? www.faclappraisals.com

For great stories, videos and tips see www.tipsforartcollectors.org (Free downloads, sign up for blog updates)

Captivating scenery with broad, flowing trees and colorful flowers.

This painting came into the lab because it contained several problems:

It had couple dents towards the middle and in the lower right hand corner.

There is a small tear.

Also it was cracking badly.

The dents and rips could have been avoided! This damage was probably caused  by storing it badly and obviously leaning things against it with no protection.

Is this anyway to treat or take care of a $15,000 painting???

or.. what if it was a painting of your grandmother? Would you have treated it differently?

As ugly as these problems are, the painting is not flaking or falling apart immediately. In other words, there is no emergency action needed to save the painting. So if are these problems don’t get taken care of right away, all will not be lost. Damage in the form of cracking is now in the process of forming and becoming evident.

If the painting were actively flaking (losing paint) then immediate action would be suggested. If there is enough paint loss, it could make the painting worth less (impact the value).

Let’s say you know nothing about art and you don’t want to spend the money to get it fixed…

• Would you be tempted to throw this painting away??
• Or would you sell it for a cheap price at a garage sale??

For instance, the original owner of this painting,  didn’t want to spend any money on this painting to fix it or clean it… so, therefore she gave it away. It’s worth about $10,000.00

What really happened to this painting by Robert Wood? The owner sold this painting, in its dented abused condition, for a fraction of its value because they didn’t know what to do with it.

Here are 5 tips to follow if you find yourself in this kind of situation:

1. Ask an art appraiser about the painting. (Sometimes they will not charge for a verbal opinion if you do not require a formal appraisal (Also you ask an auction house for their opinion)
2. Speak with an art conservator to give value/estimate for repairs.
3. Ask the curator at a local museum for an opinion.
4. Another suggestion would be, if you can read the signature on the painting research it, and you can find out interesting things. This artist, for example, would show up everywhere in a search. He was quite famous.
5. DO NOT consult with art dealers right away until you get other’s opinions first. They will try to buy the artwork for as little as possible.

For $1,000.00 this painting can look as good as new, and should be worth the maximum amount of money after restoration.

If this were to be a family portrait the sales price may not be as important but its preservation would be more important than ever.

To keep these damages from happening, do not lean anything on the painting. Cover front and back with card box, or place in a cardboard mirror box. Do not store where the temperature gets too hot or too cold, or where it gets humid or moldy.

When you have a damaged painting, your home owner’s insurance policy may help you pay for it, and may even pay you for lost value. For more information about this, go to www.insurancepersonalpropertyassessments.com or call us at 805 564 3438

For great stories, videos and tips see www.tipsforartcollectors.org (Free downloads, sign up for blog updates)

Questions about preserving collectibles, letters, certificates photos? www.saveyourstuffblog.com (Free downloads, sign up for blog updates)

Follow us on Facebook at (be sure to sign up as our friend!) :

Save Your Stuff  (Home)

Save Your Stuff From A Disaster (Office-Workplace)

Fine Art Conservation

Conservation questions? Go to www.fineartconservationlab.com

Appraisal questions? www.faclappraisals.com

Huell Howser of California Gold

I was in Palm Springs last Friday (It was a 118 degs!) having dinner with an art dealer and collector when, to my surprise, in through the door came Huell Howser, Hollywood Icon and host of the TV series California Gold. How long has that program been on the air!!!? Talking about staying power!

It was good to reconnect with Huell after so many years when he did an hour long feature program on the discovery, uncovering and conservation of the Globe Lobby murals by Hugo Ballin at the Los Angeles Time Building. It was our company, Fine Art Conservation laboratories (FACL, Inc. www.fineartconservationlab.com) that did the work. He was great to work with as he stuck his nose into every little detail of the project, interviewed me and commented to his viewers with his Southern folksy style about the discovery of these very interesting long lost paintings. His whole program was dedicated to our efforts. Continue Reading “Huell Howser Star Sighting”»