Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Restoring the Brown Grand Theatre Drop Curtain, Day 2.

Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett 

I am currently in Concordia, Kansas, working on a scenery restoration project. With a population of approximately 5,000, this town is located in central Kansas; an area known as the Smoky Hills region of the great plains.

My project is to repair and restore the second drop curtain delivered to the Brown Grand Theatre in 1979; a painted replica based on the original one delivered by the Twin City Scenic Co. in 1907. 

The painted composition is extremely deteriorated, with some of the problems stemming from overly thick layers of primer and dry pigment paint.

In my humble opinion, the key to a painted scene’s longevity is making sure that the painting remains flexible. This applies to any historic setting, whether it was painted with thin glazes (as in the English tradition) or opaque washes (as in the European tradition). The primer and the paint layer can never be too thick, even when a translucent area is back painted. I believe that it is a lot easier to accomplish this objective with dry pigments and diluted hide glue than with premixed paints. Dry pigment colors can maintain their vibrancy even after a ridiculous amount of size water is used, yet still sit on top of the previously applied color, maintaining an opacity unparalleled with premixed paints.

So, why is a thick layer on the surface of a drop curtain a problem? A thick primer and/or paint application means that it is drop becomes subject to cracking, flaking and dusting down the road, especially when handled a lot. 

Normally this would not be a big problem for a permanent installation; such is the case with most drop curtains in historic theaters, as the drops stay on a dedicated line set and are never moved. However, the Brown Grand drop curtain has been handled excessively over the past decade. It has been lowered to the stage floor at least three times since its installation in 1979. The drop was lowered to the stage floor when the top sandwich batten was replaced, swapping the original 4-inch wide pine for 6-inch wide oak. It was lowered when the rigging was recently replaced too. I have to wonder if the rigging crew allowed the drop to accordion to the floor, as with some modern drops.  There are tell-tale horizontal creases that suggest that method. It was lowered a final time just prior to my arrival this week. The lowering and raising process takes a toll on a thickly painted compositions, resulting in an abundance of creasing and abrasions. These weaknesses accelerate the aging of the scene if left untreated and eventually becomes irreparable.

I noticed that many areas of paint loss on the Napoleon drop revealed a white prime coat beneath, and the white paint had a slight sheen to it.  This may be that too much size was added to the whiting during initial application – or that another paint product was used. However, there is not a good bond between the primer and paint. In other areas, the prime coat has completely detached from the fabric, revealing raw fibers below. In addition to cracking, flaking, and dusting pigment, there is a substantial amount of surface contaminants.  Removing the top layer of dirt has been tricky, but I went color by color, determining which colors would need extra attention during consolidation.

After cleaning the drop, I addressed areas with minimal cracking and paint loss. Using a damp brush, loose color can quickly conceal the damage and fill the void.  I say, “easily,” but this is really a tricky process that has taken me quite a few years to fine tune. First of all, not all of colors will work, especially if any pre-mixed paint was added to the dry pigment colors. Secondly, this method only works for small cracks, not large areas of paint loss. It is important to remember that you have one shot to get it right, and a very limited window of time to shift the paint. For this Brown Grand drop curtain, I could successfully shift some yellows, browns, reds, sienna, dark blue and black (yes, there is black on this one, not Van Dyke). The greens are immovable, suggesting that something else is going on and another type of paint may have been applied at the onset.

This whole approach takes a great amount of skill and years of practice. If you do it wrong or overwork an area, you can actually remove the color and further damage the composition.  Light colors are incredibly tricky, including skies, as a tide line will also appear if your brush is too wet.  However, this process does not introduce any new color to the composition. That being said, there will still have to be a significant amount of in-painting for this project.

My second task yesterday was preparing the top of the drop for a fabric reinforcement. Twelve-inches of the top of the scene had to be removed, as off-gassing from a solvent-based glue used while replacing the original top batten had irreparably damaged the fabric. Using hide glue, two long patches were secured to the backside, four inches below the new top. It will remain under weights for twenty-four hours, and then I will continue with that particular project later today. This was not part of the planned project, so we had to scramble for materials. This included a quick shopping trip in Salina, Kansas.

By the way, this is a solo project. I am not using any assistants or volunteers for the restoration.  Much has to do with the increased Delta variant in this region. We just lost a close family friend to COVID in the area a few weeks ago.

If it weren’t for the potential health risks for all involved, this would be a fantastic teaching opportunity. Regardless, I am tried to document my process and share daily updates with all stakeholders. This is the best way to communicate without having people stop by and check in on my progress.

To be continued…