10 INPAINTING A DAMAGE IN AN OIL PAINTING

First establish the structure of the layers by visual inspection of the paint edges, the worn areas where the layers may show through, and the edges of damage.

After lining and placing any fabric inlays, fill with an appropriate putty and press in matching canvas grain. Then apply the ground color in a covering medium and covering pigments. Next apply the underpaint and possible undermodelling in a transparent medium and more transparent pigments, so that all layers will contribute to the final effect, as shown in Plate 3.

For very small losses, I may leave out the ground color and apply the underpaint and design colors only.