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Damaged pastel painting

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Dawn Halliwell

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Hi folks, I am hoping you can help. I have just finished a pastel painting for exhibition and it fell off the wall. The frame broke, glass smashed and the paper was damaged. Can this painting be saved? Image below showing damaged section just above the horizon. It is soft pastel on pastelmat. I have tried layering over with more pastel, but as the surface of the paper seems to be scarred the pastel is not adhering to the groove. This is only my second time of exhibiting and the first time I will have had my paintings shown alongside both amateur and professional artists, so as you can imagine I don't want to submit a damaged piece of work. Any advice greatly received. Many thanks, Dawn

Sylvia Evans

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Ooh so sad.i wish I did know how to help but sadly I don't ...sorry. Can you claim it on either your insurance or ...faint hope , the exhibitions ?

Dawn Halliwell

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Alas, Sylvia. The damage happened at home. I was hanging it to see how it looked!

Alan Bickley

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To be honest I can't really see it on my screen Dawn but you do have a problem here. A ripped oil on canvas is an easy fix and removing foxing from old watercolours are standard procedures but a small gash in what probably is pastel paper, Ingres perhaps is a tricky one. Trying to fill the tear or hole in with pastel is the only way, I feel sure that I could salvage it but it's you that has to do it and you've tried. All you can do is have another go, working your pastels (soft ones) slightly thicker and sweeping over a larger area, not just concentrating on the damaged bit itself, that way you should be able to disguise any damage. Failing that, get out another piece of paper without delay and start work on another, that's possibly your only salvation and good luck, these things happen.

Alan Bickley

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I would also add that it is usual to put pastel drawings under a mount, which will obviously keep the pastel itself off the glass, quite an important point and they also look so much better.

Dawn Halliwell

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Thanks, Alan. I think I will do another. If I do manage to salvage this one, I will post if or you to see! It was under a mount, when it fell off the wall. Maybe it's a blessing and I will do a better piece. Sod's law that I only filled in my paperwork and paid yesterday. Lesson learned - use decent picture hooks even if only hanging for 10 mins!!!
Moi 17

Linda Wilson

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I would either do another one or change the mark into a seagull, or osprey, which would add extra interest.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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We've probably all had something like this happen at one time or other, and my consolation is always that if I did it once, I can do it again - which is what I'd do in this case. Keep the painting for your own guidance and enjoyment: you'll be able to use it as a measure of your progress in a few years' time - but if we can see the damage from your photo, I'm afraid viewers of the picture will see it in an exhibition. You've tried what I'd have tried - painting over it - but if the paper's surface has gone and it won't take more pastel.... well, I suppose you could try painting a little white goache or acrylic over it, and try pastelling over that, but .... I don't think it would work very well, if at all. Do another one.

Dawn Halliwell

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Well, I have done some work on it and the damage is a little less obvious. I went over it with horizontal sweeps of pastel and pastel pencil to break up the hard line and I think it has worked to a degree, but still not perfect. For the exhibition, I have done another, which I think is probably better anyway. I will post the new one in the gallery after the exhibition.

Michael Robinson

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It does look better Dawn but I'm sure you will be happier putting another into the exhibition, good luck with it.

Adele Elgood

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Good luck with the exhibition Dawn.

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