Baudains Art Conservation is all about the Preservation, Conservation and Restoration of Art on Paper. Specialising in Prints, Drawings and Watercolours and also Documents and Maps.
Treatment Plans for Art on Paper range from:
1. PRESERVATION work - which sees the work of art freed from acidic materials, with dry cleaning and dry work followed by re-housing in the correct Conservation (acid-free) Mount board and backing board. (Clients use their own Framer).
2. CONSERVATION - is Preservation plus the removal and reduction of Acidic staining or/and Oxidised mould spores (brown spots or "foxing") and/or paper impurities which an aqueous treatment is used for and a light chemical treatment. Baudains Art Conservation uses a very special and gentle but effective chemical treatment -of Museum standard -which reconditions paper fibres after treatment. Lisa was fortunate to be given this special formula from her Conservation Employer Keith Holmes who Conserved Art on Paper for the Science Museum and the Imperial War Museum in London.
3. RESTORATION work is where retouching is required... following the Artists Intention
"Even if one brush stroke of colour is applied or a few millimetres of graphite - it is intervention with the artists’ original work. But, intelligent restoration work will restore the art work to the artists original intention and this is a positive action".
"Restoration is always controversial subject especially in Museums. For The Sistine Chapel though - full restoration saved Michelangelos incredibly beautiful ceiling paintings from being lost forever! Sensitively retouching a picture even on a minuscule scale, can make a great difference".
Restoration work and retouching is widely acceptable in private practice and some museum environments - ultimately it is a decision reached with the client and conservator. The Client instructs and a good conservator will carry out their wishes"
Lisa Oxenden-Wray
Baudains Art Conservation belongs to Lisa Oxenden-Wray B.A (hons) Pg Dip. Lisa is a qualified, trained and experienced Conservator of Art on Paper with over 30 years of practice.
Moulds
Mould spores.... there are over 2 thousand different types of moulds. Some can be hazardous. Mould spore oxidation used to be known as 'foxing' - a traditional term used to describe brown spots covering areas of a watercolour, print, drawing or any work of art on paper or any paper object as paper is hygroscopic.
Paper is hygroscopic, meaning it takes up moisture usually from the air which varies with the humidity of its surrounding environment. Therefore, paper is able to consistently attract water from its surroundings via absorption. Once a paper has absorbed moisture it can then grow a mould which then oxides and resembles a formation of brown spots. Fortunately these are treatable and can be removed in Conservation.
The conservation of an art work on paper demands great skill and care. Lisa has been trained and is qualified scientifically to treat the paper combined with watercolour paint pigments and different medias such as graphite and charcoal and printing inks.
Watercolour with oxidised mould spores before Conservation
Watercolour After Conservation
Science is Magic
"I've twice been asked if I use Magic to achieve my results! When the truth is my results are from a combination of hard work, Science and the Craft of paper conservation! I also treat every work of art in my care with great respect and I'm meticulous and very careful in my work..... I guess you could say Science is a kind of Magic!"
Lisa Oxenden-Wray
Some of Lisa's Science notes from Camberwell College of Arts and Crafts
One of the most beautiful projects Lisa enjoyed working on was a collection of 19th Century Japanese Screens belonging to the Guernsey Museum and Galleries (pictured below).
Contact Lisa on 07797 834 123 for a free consultation
Or
Email: [email protected]
