CLEANING A PAINTING

[jkatdartist]

Hi everyone, I have a question. My 3-year old decided to "paint" on my painting with crayon!! Eek..this painting was completed about 3-4 years ago, does anyone have any suggestions for cleaning? :-(

[turlogh]

Crayons are bound in wax. Spirits of turpentine dissolve wax, but not tempera.

Get some spirits of turpentine and strips of white, lint-free cloth. Make a tube of cloth about the size of your little finger. Dip it in turps. Now carefully roll (don't rub) it on the surface of the painting where the crayon is. Keep doing this, changing to a new cloth whenever the old one starts to get clogged with dissolved crayon. Continue slowly and carefully removing the crayon until it's gone.

I would suggest practicing on a test painting first. Use an unsuccessful painting or paint blobs of ET on a panel. Let it dry for a few days, smear the same crayons on it, then see if you can use the method described above to remove the crayon without disturbing the paint.

Good luck.

[jkatdartist]

Sorry so long in replying, thank you though, I am going to try this!

[Dimitris C. Milionis]

My son now 11 years old used to [at 3-6] put his thumb into my paint and express himself, I think they are a great combo for him to show his kids what he did to there grand-dad, when the time comes

[jkatdartist]

I agree, I usually let him express himself on some of my other paintings. :) I am trying to let him express himself artistically. He has an easel next to mine now. That sems to have satisfied him for now.

[Dimitris C. Milionis]

Well you are lucky, mine [Alexander now age 10+] has a talent for drawing, sketching, knows the color rules but does not want to touch the field. I guess his interests are somewhere else.

Its just a shame when a parent has the tools to give a child and they find no interest, but he his great at all the kids stuff, game boy, Sony PS2 & PSP etc.

on second thought my dad played music on a bouzouki in a small garage based loose band, I never picked up music as a tool neither for the ear or the hand, and when I told him many summers ago I need the village hens eggs for a icon painting he thought I was ill.

now he keeps that small ET painting of Mary in the village tool shed with all his personal tools.