Painting Restoration

David and Carol Carter reviewed: Painting Restoration

"Being new to oil painting and frame restoration, my wife and I joined Rachael with the aim of understanding how to restore a sizeable Victorian painting of our relative, known as "Uncle Harry". Our concerns that we might cause potential harm to the portrait were quickly allayed by Rachael whose whole ethos was only reversible repairs would be considered. After careful inspection, we tested the various coloured paints with cleaning solutions until we discovered what would work without causing harm. To our surprise, once shown how by Rachael, we managed to clean the surface revealing far greater detail then we had ever imagined on day one. Likewise, the delapidated frame was due to be renovated on day two but Rachael kindly offered to re-glue the joints overnight so that rennovations could proceed at full-pace the next day. Once again we were astounded at the progress made on day two including recasting the missing plaster work. Both fantastic courses, well done Rachael for all the support."

Louise reviewed: Painting Restoration

"This course is fantastic. So informative and hands-on. Rachel knows all there is to know on picture restoration (ie she looked at everyone's pictures and had solutions for all the problems we raised with our projects - and some were very complicated). Also, in addition she is a lovely person, and a great teacher - she not only knows her stuff, she is also great at expressing what she knows to our benefit. She's also a great confidence booster - which is great when you are not sure what you are doing, as a beginner, ie she reassures you it will work/ be OK etc. even on precious paintings. "

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Dear Louise, Thank you very much for your very kind review. It was lovely to meet you this week and investigate your paintings. I really hope you enjoy continuing to clean them and I look forward to seeing them and yourself again! With best wishes, Rachael"

Phil reviewed: Painting Restoration

"Brilliant course, had a lovely day and loved how my oil painting looked by the end of the day, thank you Rachael! "

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you Phil. It was a lovely day. It was wonderful to see your painting brighten and lose the marks. With best wishes, Rachael"

Karen reviewed: Painting Restoration

"What a great, relaxing day spent learning and practicing new skills with Rachel. We had clear instruction and plenty of time to experiment and ask questions, Rachel was really helpful. I went away feeling confident that I could carry on working on my project."

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you very much Karen. It was a lovely day and you have a very interesting project to work on. You’ve made a wonderful start and I wish you well when continuing with it! With best wishes, Rachael"

Jeremy reviewed: Painting Restoration

"We had an excellent day with Rachael on the Art Restoration class. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the class and made great progress with restoring two old oil paintings. Rachael was delightful, very knowledgeable and supplied everything that we needed for the day."

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you very much Jeremy. It was a wonderful day, with two very interesting paintings! I hope they continue to develop beautifully! With best wishes,"

Penny reviewed: Painting Restoration

"A friend and I spent a busy and informative day with Rachael. She was friendly and professional, teaching us cleaning techniques for removing surface dirt and varnish. We got to practice on several pieces, not just those that we took with us. "

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Dear Penny, Thank you so much for a lovely day. It was wonderful to meet you both. I hope that the techniques prove useful going forward! With best wishes, Rachael"

Jan Ross reviewed: Frame Restoration

"Totally recommend this course 💖, Rachel's knowledge and experience comes across in such a relaxing and easygoing way that I was able to absorb the information and techniques and take that into my own projects. Thank you for the experience. "

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you so much Jan, it was a wonderful day. Thank you for sharing your experiences and I look forward to hearing more about your future projects. With best wishes, Rachael"

Julie Berry reviewed: Painting Restoration

"What a wonderful day. Lots of laughs and lots learnt. I would recommend the day to anyone. Thank you Rachel for a great experience. Location was great. Flapjacks were delightful too."

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you so much Julie, it was a wonderful day! So lovely to see your painting spring to life a little more, it has such a lovely story. With best wishes, Rachael"

Joolz Connery reviewed: Painting Restoration

"Being a complete beginner I wasn't sure what to expect but Rachael was lovely. I had such a great day and it was really informative. I bought along an old painting from a charity shop and we managed to remove all the old varnish and it looked brand new. Rachael has a lot of experience, is lovely and also bought in homemade flapjack. What more could you want! 5*"

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you so much Joolz. It was fantastic to see your painting respond so well. The image revealed is lovely and I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for a wonderful day. With best wishes, Rachael"

Hugh reviewed: Painting Restoration

"Really enjoyed the course. Rachael was a very good teacher, spending time with individuals where help was needed. Would definitely recommend this course to anybody wishing to restore/conserve a painting"

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you so much Hugh. It was wonderful to see your painting revealed under the varnish. You had a great approach to it and I’m glad we found a suitable method. With best wishes, Rachael "

Lindsay Blaaberg reviewed: Frame Restoration

"My day with Rachael was excellent and hugely enjoyable. I learned a great deal about the subject in which I am interested and about the equipment and materials required. Rachael has given me the confidence to start on my own and I am very grateful to her for arranging such a worthwhile day."

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you so much Lindsay. It was a lovely day working on your frame and understanding it’s history and your requirements. It was wonderful to see it coming to life. I wish you well with the project."

Ady Hargreaves reviewed: Frame Restoration

"Spent a thoroughly enjoyable day in the Little Leaf Studio. Rachael is hugely knowledgeable in all aspects of frame restoration, which for me (as a framer) was gold dust as the tools and techniques I learnt about today will stand me in excellent stead for the future. I now feel far more confident about tackling a broken or damaged frame rather than just disposing and replacing. We covered traditional frame restoration, gold leaf application, distressing and colour matching, all of which I will be able to use in the future. Advice on the correct products to use was invaluable, as was seeing first-hand how Rachael applied the techniquesare the best results before having a go myself. Great flapjack too! Thoroughly recommended - thank you for a great day Rachael!"

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you so much Ady for a super day. It was lovely to develop a better appreciation of your requirements and to see how the traditional methods might help you to repair rather than replace, as you say! I hope you enjoy exploring some of the methods a little more and I am glad it has given you more confidence to tackle problem areas. Hope to join you at Studio 93 in the future!"

Sue D reviewed: Painting Restoration

"Really enjoyed the day spent cleaning a family oil painting. Rachael was so good at demonstrating various cleaning techniques and giving great insights into the science/theory behind the processes. Was so rewarding to see the nicotine layers fade away and the hidden fresh colours emerge. Would highly recommend and hope to return later this year, to complete final stages of the paintings’ full restoration. "

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Dear Sue, Thank you for such a lovely day. It was wonderful to find such vibrancy and detail of colour underneath the nicotine and varnish of your family painting. I hope you enjoy discovering the rest and I look forward to completing the final stages with you. "

Karen reviewed: Painting Restoration

"It was brilliant to be able to start restoring my own piece and being guided through the cleaning process. I will be going back to move on to the next step of the restoration. Racheal is very nice and easy going and knowledgeable "

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you Karen so much. It was a wonderful day working on your incredible painting. Such an interesting piece! I hope the cleaning goes well and look forward to hearing about it. See you soon for the next steps!"

Jackie reviewed: Painting Restoration

"What an amazing day. We worked on one of my paintings. It was SO exciting to watch my painting come to life as we cleaned away years of dirt. Rachael is a great teacher, sharing her knowledge while encouraging you to explore the process. I would completely recommend this course."

Rachael Milligan at Little Leaf Studio responded:

"Thank you Jackie for such a wonderful day! It was lovely to share the experience with you and discover your painting under all the surface layers! I look forward to the next stages!"