Help in Identifying Art Medium/Materials

Create a Post
K

Katmatpot

Grumbler in Training
Thread starter
Joined
Apr 4, 2021
Posts
10
Loc
Kentucky
Business
The Printery
A customer brought in a couple of framed pieces that are works of a local artist. The artist was an oil painter (he passed away in 1990). Initially, I thought they were originals, because there was no glazing in the frame. When I looked closer, I realized they have more of a decoupaged look and there are no paint strokes.

I am fairly new to the framing industry (since 2020) and this is the first time I've received this medium to frame. It appears to be a mounted print, but the colors are vivid, like an original. There's a bit of texture to it and, after looking under a corner that was peeling back, the texture is from the substrate.

Is this mounted on Masonite? If so, what technique was used to give it the glossy, decoupaged look? The customer was wondering about cleaning the surface of the print.
 

Attachments

  • 414173920_911792473632591_2962539147086574202_n.jpg
    414173920_911792473632591_2962539147086574202_n.jpg
    245.4 KB · Views: 72
  • 414660913_759668682735385_2994587755298541965_n.jpg
    414660913_759668682735385_2994587755298541965_n.jpg
    198.1 KB · Views: 70
  • 414581922_715435167222745_1152954097344876030_n.jpg
    414581922_715435167222745_1152954097344876030_n.jpg
    352.7 KB · Views: 66
  • 414520916_3547722248876073_2342317457449898756_n.jpg
    414520916_3547722248876073_2342317457449898756_n.jpg
    114.3 KB · Views: 66
Sort by date Sort by votes
Not a painter, but my guess would be either acrylic on paper, or a print from one, that's been spray mounted to something like illustration board. Then, decoupaged
This kind of thing is tricky to clean, in part because, cleaning generally involves stripping off any varnish, and that's trickier with something mounted to a board than with art on a stretched canvas. For that, I'd suggest sending it to a conservator. But, I suppose you could also try one of those fluffy little pillow erasers, that have eraser dust inside. Not if the paint is flaky, but if it's solid, one of those might brighten it a bit. If your customer was the artist, they could get a scan and make a nice print from that, but since they're not, that would be a challenge.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thanks, Shayla, I appreciate your response. I'll check with the customer and see how she feels about trying the dry cleaning pad with eraser bits. Not sure how much you can tell from the pictures, but do you agree this is likely not an original?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Offset lithographs on textured board were the bees knees in the 60's - 70's.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I think your diagnosis is pretty good. What is still unknown is the nature of the finish coat. Is it water or solvent based?

But before going too far down that road, take a look at the possibility of replacing these should anything you do to them go horribly wrong.
One of the first and often painful lessons in picture framing is to not let someone else's liability become yours.

Removing surface dirt with a soft brush or an eraser pad (used very gently) is unlikely to cause any damage (always experiment on the edge that would be hidden by the lip of the frame), but beyond that you have gotten into the realm of conservation where most of us are not qualified.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
wpfay said:
I think your diagnosis is pretty good. What is still unknown is the nature of the finish coat. Is it water or solvent based?

But before going too far down that road, take a look at the possibility of replacing these should anything you do to them go horribly wrong.
One of the first and often painful lessons in picture framing is to not let someone else's liability become yours.

Removing surface dirt with a soft brush or an eraser pad (used very gently) is unlikely to cause and damage (always experiment on the edge that would be hidden by the lip of the frame), but beyond that you have gotten into the realm of conservation where most of us are not qualified.
Click to expand...
Thank you, wpfay - I completely agree regarding the realm of conservation, which I am not qualified to perform. I typically don't accept requests to 'clean' any pieces of work that come through the shop. But this customer is a friend of 50 years and asked my thoughts. I suggested a conservationist, but thought I should, at least, see what medium and materials we're working with. If she insists, and wants to try the eraser bits, I will most-definitely attempt it on the edge of the print. In the meantime, I've messaged the artist's daughter and hope to receive some information from her regarding the provenance.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
All I can tell from your pics is that the artwork is definitely a print of some sort and appears to have been rather shoddily mounted onto some kind of particle board. It is also a worry that it now appears to be delaminating from that board and this process is likely to continue.

There are a variety of treatments like gel medium which can be applied to a mounted print to enable it to be displayed without glass and give it some of the appearance of an original.

Cleaning it is not something I would recommend and if I did anything I would not go beyond very gentle wiping with a clean damp cloth. However, WPFay is dead right when he warns against making the customer's problem yours. Many customers and friends have been lost by framers trying to do them a favour and causing damage to artworks which then suddenly become very valuable or acquire great sentimental value.

Tread carefully.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Katmatpot said:
From what I've read, the artist published most of his prints from 1975-1989. So that is a possibility.
Click to expand...
You have given us the answer. They are copies of original art, limited editions or open editions from a local artist. Unless this local artist had a following, they are probably of limited value locally and even less on a wider area.
Not knowing the name of the artist an internet search is not possible.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I agree that it is an offset print on textured mount board. I see a lot of that. They would high pressure mount them to the board so the texture would show through. We use Goldens gesso to add brush strokes to this type of artwork. It is a water based gesso. It is a very common way to do it and that is what I would assume this is. I would not try to clean it, that would need to be a conservitor.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I really don't think there's anything to be done other than a light wipe of the surface and I wouldn't expect that to change it's appearance much. It's almost certainly an acrylic medium applied on top of a print as has been mentioned. Acrylics are relatively soft and full of micro pores that can and due hold on to contaminates. Using anything too wet or aggressive would likely seep through and damage the paper. I doubt even a conservator could do much with it. On top of that, what you're seeing is probably in large part just normal fading of the inks used plus possible bleed through from the back of acids from the mount board. you might be able to stabilize it some if it can be easily removed from the mount board. It could then be backed with rag board and framed with uv filtering glass using a spacer. Or maybe a replacement could be found that's been packed away and hasn't seen the light of day over the years.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
artfolio said:
All I can tell from your pics is that the artwork is definitely a print of some sort and appears to have been rather shoddily mounted onto some kind of particle board. It is also a worry that it now appears to be delaminating from that board and this process is likely to continue.

There are a variety of treatments like gel medium which can be applied to a mounted print to enable it to be displayed without glass and give it some of the appearance of an original.

Cleaning it is not something I would recommend and if I did anything I would not go beyond very gentle wiping with a clean damp cloth. However, WPFay is dead right when he warns against making the customer's problem yours. Many customers and friends have been lost by framers trying to do them a favour and causing damage to artworks which then suddenly become very valuable or acquire great sentimental value.

Tread carefully.
Click to expand...
artfolio, Thank you for your response and assistance in identifying what we have. I plan to tread carefully. Actually, at this point, I may not even dip my toe.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
JFeig said:
You have given us the answer. They are copies of original art, limited editions or open editions from a local artist. Unless this local artist had a following, they are probably of limited value locally and even less on a wider area.
Not knowing the name of the artist an internet search is not possible.
Click to expand...
JFeig, The artist's name is Russell May. He is highly collected in our area of Eastern Kentucky, where he lived. After he and his wife, both, passed, one of their daughters has taken over as a contact regarding appraisals and his work. Since posting my question yesterday, she's responded back and she's not entirely sure they are actually Mr. May's work. Now that I have an answer to my medium/materials query, I'm not positive on the validity of the pieces!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Artfinity said:
I agree that it is an offset print on textured mount board. I see a lot of that. They would high pressure mount them to the board so the texture would show through. We use Goldens gesso to add brush strokes to this type of artwork. It is a water based gesso. It is a very common way to do it and that is what I would assume this is. I would not try to clean it, that would need to be a conservitor.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Artfinity. Your opinion seems to be in the consensus. I appreciate you taking time to respond and the tip about Golden's gesso.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Terry Hart cpf said:
I really don't think there's anything to be done other than a light wipe of the surface and I wouldn't expect that to change it's appearance much. It's almost certainly an acrylic medium applied on top of a print as has been mentioned. Acrylics are relatively soft and full of micro pores that can and due hold on to contaminates. Using anything too wet or aggressive would likely seep through and damage the paper. I doubt even a conservator could do much with it. On top of that, what you're seeing is probably in large part just normal fading of the inks used plus possible bleed through from the back of acids from the mount board. you might be able to stabilize it some if it can be easily removed from the mount board. It could then be backed with rag board and framed with uv filtering glass using a spacer. Or maybe a replacement could be found that's been packed away and hasn't seen the light of day over the years.
Click to expand...
That's a good thought on the replacement, Terry. Unfortunately, I've been in contact with the artist's daughter, who says she doesn't remember the prints, at all. Mr. May (the artist, Russell May) spent some time in Austria, studying under another artist. His daughter initially thought these may have been prints that he did while there. I do know that typically, with his originals (oil paintings) he signed them in paint. With his prints, his usual practice was to sign them with pencil above or below his painted signature with the date and/or the print number. The prints that are the subject of this thread are signed in pencil, but do not have a date or print number. His daughter asked to for a close-up photo of the signature and stated that she's not even sure they are his work. So. That's where we are on that. I'll speak to my customer and see if she can find out when/how her prints were obtained. Thank you for the information and ideas.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Upvote 0 Downvote
Not to get too far off topic I was curious about Artfinity's comment about the gesso, maybe he could comment further about using it as it's new to me. Gesso's are typically used as a ground for painting on top of and quite porous. Also usually pigmented (typically white) although Golden does make a clear which of course must be what Artfinity is using. Why choose gesso for texturing over say gel medium (my go to in the past).



Artfinity said:
I agree that it is an offset print on textured mount board. I see a lot of that. They would high pressure mount them to the board so the texture would show through. We use Goldens gesso to add brush strokes to this type of artwork. It is a water based gesso. It is a very common way to do it and that is what I would assume this is. I would not try to clean it, that would need to be a conservitor.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Artfinity. Your opinion seems to be in the consensus. I appreciate you taking time to respond and the tip about Golden's gesso.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm guessing he intended to say Gel Media?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Create a Post
Back
Top