-By Dan dos Santos

It is the year 2291, and Dr. Scott Van Foschessantos has unearthed a trove of paintings long buried in the frozen ruins of Old New York. Having already carefully excavated the site and transported the findings to his lab, the Doctor is using state of the art technology to restore these artifacts to their former glory. As if peeling away time itself, each painting has been examined, layer by layer, in order to deduce the exact materials each artist implemented. A small sampling of his finding are listed below.

A member of Van Foschessantos’ team inspects a painting on the vacuum table.

Artifact A-01:
Signed upper left: “Gregory Manchess

Upper most layer: Final picture varnish
Painting: Oil paint, consisting of varying formulas, mostly Old Holland, slight amounts of Galkyd and Alkyd White detected.
Underpainting: Acrylic wash, a mixture of Ultramarine Blue & Burnt Umber
Preliminary drawing: 2B Graphite, applied directly to surface
Primer: 2 layers of Acrylic gesso
Substrate: Belgian linen

Artifact A-02:

Signed lower right: “Dan dos Santos

Upper most layer: W&N Conser-Var
Intermediate varnish: W&N Artist’s retouching varnish
Painting: Oil paint, consisting of varying formulas, mostly Rembrandt, slight amounts of linseed oil and cobalt drier detected.
Underpainting: Sepia Acryla-gouache.
Sealant: Krylon Workable Fixative
Preliminary drawing: 2B Graphite, applied directly to surface
Primer: 3 layers of Acrylic gesso
Substrate: Strathmore 500 series Illustration board

Artifact B-04:

Signed lower right: “Paolo Rivera

Upper most layer: Gouache
Underpainting: Thinned Sepia gouache.
Preliminary drawing: 2B Graphite, applied directly to surface
Primer: none
Substrate: Strathmore 500 series Bristol board

Artifact B-06:

Signed lower left: “Sam Weber

Upper most layer: Colored pencil and Gouache
Painting: Multiple layers, alternating between W&N watercolors, charcoal pencil, and Golden Glazing Medium (Satin finish)
Underpainting: Golden Fluid Acrylics
Preliminary drawing: 6B Graphite transfer, modified with 2H graphite drawing
Primer: none
Substrate: Fabriana 300 lbs hotpress watercolor paper

Artifact BC-08:

Signed lower right: “Boris Vallejo / Julie Bell
Upper most layer: W&N Damar Varnish
Intermediate varnish: W&N Aerosol Retouch Varnish
Painting: Oil paint, consisting of varying formulas, mostly W&N, no siccatives detected.
Underpainting: Acrylic wash, a mixture of Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber
Preliminary drawing: HB Graphite, applied directly to surface
Primer: 3 layers of Acrylic gesso
Substrate: Strathmore 500 series Illustration board

Artifact C-05:

Signed lower left: “Eric Fortune

Upper most layer: Golden Polymer Varnish with UVLS (Satin finish)
Painting: Liquitex Acrylic
Preliminary drawing: HB, 2B drawing
Primer: none
Substrate: Strathmore hot-press watercolor paper, 300lb

Artifact C-06:

Signed lower right: “J. J. Palencar

Upper most layer: Aerosol Varnish
Painting: Acrylic, varying formulas; traces of matte medium, gloss medium and nicotine detected.
Preliminary drawing: H, HB, 2B Graphite, applied directly to surface
Primer: none
Substrate: Arches hot-press watercolor paper, 300lb

Artifact C-11:

Signed lower right: “Dave Seeley

Upper most layer: Liquin
Painting: Oil paint, slight amounts of Liquin Impasto Alkyd detected
Primer: 2 layers of Acrylic Gloss Medium
Preliminary drawing: mechanically integrated with substrate
Substrate: Epson Piezo Pro Matte Canvas, mounted to 3/16″ masonite

Artifact D-02/03:

Signed lower right: “Bruce Jensen
Upper most layer: Gamvar
Intermediate varnish: Galkyd
Painting: Oil paint, mostly Gamblin, slight amounts of galkyd/gamsol detected
Preliminary drawing: Graphite transfer applied directly to surface
Primer: Multiple coats of Acrylic Gesso
Substrate: Vellum, mounted to 3/8″ Birch Plywood

Artifact D-06:

Signed lower left: “Lars Grant-West

Upper most layer: Mixture consisting of 7 parts galkyd, 2 parts wax medium, 1 part Gamsol
Painting: Oil paint, trace amounts of galkyd detected
Underpainting: Oil paint and oil stick, raw umber
Preliminary drawing: Graphite drawing, applied directly to surface
Primer: 3 coats of Neutral PH PVA adhesive
Substrate: Stretched Linen

Artifact D-20:
Signed lower left: “Donato Giancola

Upper most layer: Gam-Var
Intermediate varnish: Galkyd
Painting: Oil paint, slight amounts of Sun-thickened Linseed oil, Venice Turpentine and Damar Varnish detected
Underpainting: Acrylic wash
Primer: 3 layers of Acrylic Matte Medium
Preliminary drawing: mechanically integrated with substrate
Substrate: Strathmore 500 series cold-press paper, mounted to 1/4″ masonite