I’ve been doing some research on how an artist can repair their own damaged paintings. After a few hours, I finally found a detailed method of repair for flaking and blistering on an oil painted canvas. Here is the information gathered from restoration-advice.org

Flaking and Blistering

When the paint is flaking, blistering or scaling, a condition in which the paint and ground lifts from the canvas, due to the deterioration of the ground (then material used to smooth the canvas before the painting was applied).
The paint then is re-adhered to the painting by strengthening this ground.
This is usually done by impregnating the area with a mixture of Beeswax and Damar resin, known as the Dutch Method.
We recommend the impregnate most canvasses with this mixture as it prevents deterioration of the canvas and the ground, as well as the overall conservation/ preservation of the whole painting.
Beeswax and Damar are molten and mixed together by heating firstly the Damar until dissolved and then slowly adding the Beeswax.

This mixture is applied warm ( 70° -80°C or 160°-175° F).
A mixture such as above doesn’t shrink upon solidifying.

Epoxy is sometimes used in those sort of repairs, as it also is non-shrinking due to the lack of an evaporative vehicle, it (epoxy) solidifies by chemical reaction, however great care should be taken with the use of such materials, as those restorations are non-reversible, and no long term experience is available, while contrary to claims, epoxies do deteriorate.
I personally like to dissolve some of this Beeswax and Damar mixture with some pure turpentine and then flood the flaking area with a brush very carefully so as not to disturb the loose pieces but still let the mixture impregnate the area behind and around the flakes and blisters.

Those flakes can then be re-adhered and flattened with a heated palette knife.
After thorough drying I paste some paper over this section, for protection, then after drying I apply paper over the whole painting, this protects the texture of the painting during the ironing process.

Then after drying I turn the picture over and apply the mixture of Beeswax and Damar warm ( 70° -80°C or 160°-175° F ) on the back, then with an Electric Iron, I iron the area down so as to impregnate the whole picture with this preservative mixture, this flattens and re-adheres the blisters and flakes back against the now impregnated and strengthened ground.
Those with flat heated platen can of course do this by vacuum pressing the painting against those platen, this also allows the painting to maintain its texture.

After cooling I then carefully wash the paper away, the examine the result to determine the further processes needed to complete the restoration.
The reason I prefer this, Dutch Method, is that it is reversible, one can always reheat an area and relocate any pieces of flakes, which are not where one wanted them, something which is impossible if epoxy is used.

I have not yet tried this method. I have a large painting that has been rolled up in storage for several years now and it has some flaking that I’d like to correct. Although the painting is quite large, I don’t consider it an “important” piece of my portfolio, so I’m not so worried about the outcome of the repairing the damage. The only worry that I have, is if the painting will crack or flake again if it is rolled and put in storage.

By the way, I do not sell paintings that have cracks or flakes in them. I’ve only had one painting with this problem and it was due to handling and storage when moving to many different studios over the years. I also don’t recommend for art buyers to repair oil paintings themselves. You should contact the original artist, if possible, and/or a fine art conservator.

I will post an update once I am finished repairing the painting.

-Jessica

I LOVE the Minneapolis and Saint Paul art crawls that we have annually. It’s so exciting to get the chance to go through and visit other artist’s studios. Sometimes it seems there can be a sea of mediocrity but eventually you stumble upon some shining originality.

I’m sad to say that I do not have a studio in NE Minneapolis or Lowertown Saint Paul to be able to participate in these events. I do have a couple friends who have studios in Lowertown. I went to school with some people who have studios in the NE area.

I’ve come up with the idea of “renting” out wall space from another artist’s studio during the art crawls. I will either pay them an upfront fee or a percentage of my total sales during the crawl. I’m still waiting to hear back from some people regarding this.

I’m excited and hope that I will be able to show my work with the other artists. If I am able to have this happen, then my art will be exposed to a much broader audience. Plus, I get to be there and greet the visitors and talk with any potential art buyers.

I’m trying to work on my networking more since I feel a bit isolated since being out of college and living in the East Saint Paul area.