Hearing Cara's words, everyone widened their eyes in surprise. "What? Have you figured out a way to restore the painting?"
"Yes." Cara showed a gentle smile.
Charlie spoke slowly. "Cara had read a lot of related books and finally found a way to restore this painting. She made a point of telling us, hoping to offer support."
Everyone looked at each other after hearing this and didn't know what to do.
The painting was so damaged that no one could repair it. Moreover, the state dinner was just days away, and they all felt anxious.
Cara finally figured out a way now, and they wanted to try it.
One of the experienced restorers stood up and asked, "Can you explain your method, Ms. Ward?"
Cara smiled slightly and talked eloquently, "We first clean the stains on the painting by conventional methods and then rinse it with 140 degrees Fahrenheit of hot water to remove the stains on the surface."
Cara then stated a lot of professional terms.
Hearing her words, the restorers got excited, and they even cheered up and asked, "This method sounds feasible. What's your opinion?"
"We can try it. It sounds like a viable solution."
Joseph witnessed these restorers gathered around Cara and couldn't help but sneer. He found them too fickle.
But they had no other choice. The painting was too difficult to restore in the limited time. Hence, they were eager to learn Cara's solution.
Joseph was confused and asked Ashley next to him, "Can ancient paintings be washed in hot water at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, Ashley?"
Ashley nodded. "Sure. The pigments used in ancient painting are generally divided into mineral and plant pigments. The mineral pigments can spread for a long time and will not be dissolved by water, which is different from modern ink. In addition, water is used in the paper-making process, so ancient paintings can withstand washing."
Simon stroked his beard in agreement. "Ashley is right."
Joseph benefited a lot from their conversation this time.
After a while, the restorers had heard Cara's methods and formulated a restoration plan.
Charlie concluded. "This is currently the best restoration plan. As long as we do it carefully and make no mistakes, this painting can be restored to the greatest extent possible."
Another restorer urged excitedly, "Then let's get started! We can't delay any longer within a limited time."
"Wait a minute." A restorer with glasses raised his hand to stop them. "We've been discussing this for a long time. Why don't we bring Ashley, Simon, and Joseph along?"
Charlie immediately frowned, "They have no idea about restoration."
Ashley only knew how to paint and learned nothing about restoration. Her presence would only cause trouble for them.
"Well, you're right." The restorer with glasses ignored Ashley and added, "In order to ensure the restore goes smoothly, we need to get the most professional restorer to do it. What's your opinion?"
Many restorers wanted to restore a famous ancient painting, and they treated it as a professional achievement.
In order to ensure that the painting could be successfully restored within a limited time, they could only select the most professional one to operate to avoid any accidents.
The restorers looked at each other. "Charlie is the most professional one among us."
"We'll leave it to you, Charlie. We'll all stand by and offer help anytime. We need to get the painting restored as soon as possible."
Charlie thought for a moment. He didn't brag about it, but he was the most professional of them all.
"Well, I'll handle it," Charlie responded.
Cara said considerately, "I'll help you, Mr. Ramos. That way, we can save a lot of time. Moreover, we've restored paintings together before, and we worked well together."
Charlie considered it for a while and finally nodded. After all, Cara had shown great ability in the restoration. "Okay."
A trace of imperceptible pride filled Cara's eyes.
After cleaning the painting with hot water, Charlie carefully uncovered the paper covering of the painting.
Joseph, not far away, witnessed this scene and looked dumbfounded. He asked softly, "Is there more than one layer?"
Ashley couldn't help but smile and said, "When a painting is framed, there are many layers. But each layer is so thin that the average person can't tell it apart."
As Ashley said, the painting had three layers in total.
The most superficial layer was the paper on which the artist painted, and this layer retained all the ink of the artist, which was particularly important."
Joseph sighed, "Well, Charlie is going through a complicated process right now. Can he make it?"
Ashley smiled slightly, "This step must be handled with care. Otherwise, the painting will be damaged."
The paper of ancient paintings was so thin that if it was damaged, it was impossible to restore it.
At this time, Charlie held tweezers in his hand and carefully peeled off the covering paper on the right side of the painting while Cara peeled off the left side.
As a result, Charlie looked up and found Cara's face turned pale. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Cara shook her head but tightly covered the painting under her hand. "No worries."
Charlie thought nothing of it and went on with his work. After all, his step at this moment was detailed, and he couldn't be distracted.
Time passed by, and Henry looked around curiously. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and frowned tightly, "What's wrong with it?"
Hearing this, everyone looked over immediately.
They found the painting had extra damage.
The painting initially had two damaged holes. But in addition to them, another damaged crack appeared.
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