Cat's Eye Carving

Repair to Statue, part two.

I am pleased to say that the Church found the necessary funds for me to restore Our Lady of Grace at St Thomas’ in Deal, back to her former glory.

I started by gently encouraging the flaking paint off the surface of the plaster using a scalpel and fine sharp blades. and where the water had eroded the plaster I built this back up. The first photo shows her with some fingers missing, I previously restored her hand.

The arm on the LHS (looking at the statue) was loose, so I was able to stabilise this before moving on.

The paint on her head and outside of her robe came away cleanly, I used wire wool and sandpaper to clean the surface fully and provide a key for the new paint.

The inside of her robe had previously been gilded and the size (gold leaf glue) was stubborn, it had been painted over and there was a flaky varnish as well, this took a little more effort to remove.

The serpent under her foot on the globe that she is standing on was missing it’s upper jaw, so I built this up with plaster to carve back once it was fully hardened.

The globe was quite badly eroded so I re-built the surface and some of the waves around the edges.

Once the statue was dry and I had carved and smoothed the added plaster, I could start the painting.

I used Keim mineral paints, although she is outside she is in a well protected niche with a mature jasmine growing above her to shelter her.

Sadly there wasn’t budget for re-gilding her robe, but the gold paint has a beautiful soft hue and compliments the blue of her robe perfectly.

View from the road, she looks lovely now.