Watercolor Painting on Clayboard Pool Room Recovered from Katrina

Watercolor Painting on Clayboard Pool Room Recovered from Katrina
Originally uploaded by 123flickr.

This is a rather large file. This is a scan of a painting which I recovered from my Katrina Flooded residence over the weekend. It is a Watercolor Painting on Clayboard - The Scene is a pool room/game. The painting drawn onto the clayboard using water color pencil and the image was then painted in using water. Clayboard is a clay sized substance a lot like plaster of Paris which is coated on top of a wooden or other hard backing material. Since the color absorbs into the clay the top layer can be cleaned leaving the detail. Some of the actual color was removed from the edges of the painting from the water which reached it. This painting was originally hanging over the door frame when the storm hit. It was found on the floor under sheet rock that had fallen from the ceilings. It was still in the frame which had water damage. The painting being a very smooth surface was mounted close to the glass which did not break. The clayboard had been inserted snugly into a foam core board to hold it close to the glass. I believe that is what helped keep the water from doing major damage or seeping into the actual clay surface.