Brushing up the past

For Kayan, Mumbai turned out to be a gold mine. The city has more than its fair share of paintings badly in need of repair from the paint peeling off to gaping holes in the canvas. Her studio is stacked with works mutilated in all possible ways. She has restored over 70 paintings, including Sabavalas, Hussains, Krishan Khannas and Parandekars. Putting them back to their former glory can take anything between two weeks to two months, depending on the size and the extent of damage. She optimises her time by working on three or four paintings simultaneously. Some of which are over 200 years old, but surprisingly, most are younger. Kayan blames some of the recent painters for using low quality canvases and diluted paints.

The main problem with paintings is the varnish. If there isn8217;t a protecting layer, the oil content dries up. The paintings lose their shine and look brittle. Usually, a clean up job and new coat of varnish is enough to bring back the old gloss. But if the paintings had an original varnish, it yellows and darkens over decades, making them look dirty and dull. Also paintings are usually not treated with care and end up with holes and tears. quot;Torn paintings are like a jigsaw puzzle where you have to figure out which piece fits where,quot; she says. If the holes are gaping, she puts up a patch at the back. But that is a last resort as a patchwork starts showing up in time. Kayan prefers a putty filler jesso mixed with rabbit glue which hardens and levels the holes with the rest of the surface. Then she paints them over. With practice, getting the right shade is not difficult. quot;But what is difficult is getting the right shine. Every painting has its unique lustre,quot; she says. And in cases where the painting has become flaky, she spreads a special glue on the surface, puts a silicon paper over it and carefully irons in the flakes.

In Mumbai, the main nemesis of paintings is the weather. Pollution and humidity causes havoc. It leads to fungus attacks which eat away at the paint and canvas. Kayan consolidates the paintings with a wax and anti-fungal treatment. She always keeps a coat of varnish between the surface and the retouch job. quot;Whatever you do should be reversible. You are not to alter the painter8217;s original work. That is unethical,quot; she says. Also, if something goes wrong, the varnish can be easily removed and with it, all traces of retouching.

Her charges vary from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000. But Kayan is quick to add that with a little extra care, you can postpone your trip to an art restorer. She advises that paintings should never be kept in the line of direct sunlight and should be dusted regularly with a feather brush and not a cloth wipe. Store them carefully and in the open. quot;If people don8217;t have space to hang paintings, they push them under the bed, in attics, or wrap them up in plastic or cloth.quot; But due to lack of ventilation, paintings catch fungus and sharp objects around prick holes in them.

Says Kayan, quot;Your painting may be old but it doesn8217;t haveto look aged and frayed. With proper maintenance it can become a family heirloom.quot;