Digital Restoration
We all have a few precious photos tucked away somewhere that we often don't get to see. Maybe in a dusty album in the basement or the one-and-only copy is actually hanging in a relatives home. Typically most of these ancient photos have suffered some damage through handling, insects, moisture or just plain 'ol time.
New technologies like advanced photo editing software are amazing. Old photographs and even paintings that have suffered through time can be restored to their original condition.
I can digitally restore these precious images for you while creating a much more durable giclee print.
Canadian destroyer "Haida" stops to pick up survivors from the "Athabaskan"
This was an old WW2 Indian ink and gouache painting that I digitally remastered for HMCS Bytown in Ottawa. We then created a set of limited edition giclee prints to mark the 60th anniversary of the heroic rescue. The painting had suffered some typical damage over the years with scratches, nicks and water stains. copyright © 2013 HMCS Bytown Incorporated. (see web page)
This cherished watercolor / sketch of their father had some typical but moderate damage. Most obvious is the horizontal crease. On closer look, the original hand drawn sketch had "yellowed" where it wasn't hidden under the frames matting. Spots, scratches and overall loss of color added to its poor condition.
The digitally restored image nearly finished showing all its previous glory.
The next natural step was to print the image as a fade resistant giclee for every one of the children to enjoy!
Digital restoration is a slow process of inspecting the image bit by bit and carefully replacing the damaged or missing elements. This is where I'm glad my primary skills are being an artist. Often knowing how the original artist might have created the stroke, or how to render a certain watercolor or pencil effect is much more valuable than simply recoloring a missing piece.
The family of Korean War veteran (William C. Dziadyk, 1929-2012) subsequently arranged for this digitally restored image to be used in a Canada Post “Picture Postage” TM stamp to remember him and his service to Canada. The original image had been painted on 31 January 1951 when HMCS Athabaskan was based in Sasebo Japan.