Maryland Farm Painting repair and fixes

This Maryland farm was painted in 1985. It was near our home in Columbia, MD. We drove past it often. It hung in our home for years. We moved from Maryland to Illinois to Texas to and then to Colorado. Somewhere along the way it got damaged. My youngest son, Ben, wanted it and asked me to fix it.

I liked the painting but I always thought it had issues, but had difficulty putting my finger on what was wrong. I am a bit more konwledgable now and have some ideas on how to improve it.

I think the fundamental issues have to do with persepective as it relates to color saturation, blurring of edges and cooling of colors as they recede. In addition, the foreground or mid-ground doesn't have the brightest and darkest colors, and it is lacking in close-up detail in the barbed wire and field.

Fix MD landscape painting:

1. Use a canvas board for trying things. The painting is 40 years old, and I forget the colors used. I know it has a matte finish and no varnish. The sky color and grass need to be accurate.

2. Use a Sta-wet palette: 

   • mix sky color, 

   • mix "mist" glaze to blur distant features: barn, field edge and some trees

3. Create photos of where changes will be made

4. Remove from frame

5. Clean surface and remove any dirt or scratches (~2 inches from left, ~1 inch from right and a few spots, white spot in bottom left). Use ph neutral  The Master’s Artist’s Hand Soap. 1) clean or fix marks especially in the sky

6. The existing separation layer has gaps and uneven application. Start with: A. Clear layers help create illusion of oil paint. Between each layer or each object apply [matte medium + 1/3 glazing medium + small amount of slo-dri]. Use large brownish brush not foam brush. For each layer, rotate brush strokes between: vertical, upper right to lower left horizontal, upper left to lower right. Use palette knife at an angle to remive any side drips before it dries. Wait until dry. CHECK FOR & REMOVE ALL HAIRS 

7. Sky: 1) lighter at horizon to darker higher up using 2) make clouds better using more colors

8. Saturation front to back. Make further back colors, especially 1) grass, trees and barn, less saturated by ??? glazing with ultramarine blue and white ??? 2) make fence post and wire stand out more 

9. Blur front to back. 1) edge of trees, grass and barn should be less distinct and more blurred, 2) horizon line should be blurred

10. More detailed in front and less detail as it goes back: 1) grass leaves are bigger in front and get smaller, 2) add flowers in front like a Pissaro painting, 3) add barbs to barbed wire and add extremely thin, broken lines using a blackish rust to wire, front post needs more contrast (a little darker and a little Brighter)

11. Update date

12. Gloss separation layer 

13. varnish

14. Return to frame

    • Reuse, buy or get paper for back of frame

    • Add notes to back of painting

      • Does back need gesso?

15. Check perspective of barns and fence. It looks right