MITRA Forum Question Details

I am not a paper conservator so my comments here should be read with that in mind. Additionally, I am only responding at all because this is an attempt to fix someone’s own artwork and not an attempt at restoring the work of other.

I am not sure there is anyway of removing the charcoal if a gummy eraser was ineffective. On the other hand, I have really never seen overpaint look convincing on raw paper to remove smudges, mistakes, etc. These types of fixes are really only good for advertising art that will be printed in black and white. Paint just does not have the open surface of paper. I am not sure that there is a perfect answer other than matting the piece to hide the smudge.

No matter what, acrylic dispersion would be poor choice of binder for any attempted overpaint even with fibers obtained from the same paper, the acrylic would almost certainly darken the fibers making it an ill match in color and value. The water in such a binder would also very likely buckle the paper. Even if one used an alcohol containing cellulose ether, you would probably need to apply a substantial amount to cover the smudge and create a topographical difference.

Perhaps someone else has a suggestion that I have not thought of.

​As Brian says, overpainting in the old days was for camera-ready art, and the corrections were always painfully apparent on the original. I wonder if some of the stain could be lifted with a small vacuum cleaner and stiff brush? If it were my work, the affected areas were in the margins and the paper was sufficiently durable, I might try abrading and burnishing. I might also try lifting the charcoal with drafting tape or "dry cleaning" it with what we used to call a "mouse", a cloth pad filled with eraser dust. But, my perspective is that of a studio artist speaking about what I would risk on my own work, and there is always significant risk of making things worse when you aren't guided by professional training.

Clearly the discoloration is caused by micro-particles of charcoal that are embedded in the interstices of the paper. Unfortunately, any attempt of disguising the particles by painting over them will likely be unsuccessful particularly because this is a modern, not aged, paper with no wiggle room in terms of mottling (euphemistically called time toning). Casting a thin layer of paper pulp over the entrapped charcoal dust will likewise prove unsuccessful.  The texture will be interrupted, resulting in different patterns of light refraction. If it is thin enough to be undetectable, it likely will not disguise the charcoal dust.  The application of a water-based slurry will also cause localized distortion of the paper as it expands in response. 

All in all, an intractable problem - better to think of the student's prints as evidence of process.

Margaret Holben Ellis

Eugene Thaw Professor of Paper Conservation 

Institute of Fine Arts, New York University