In November 2011. I was a participant in a very interesting restoration workshop on retouching and filling materials for paintings. Namely, the reconstruction of the ground and retouching are two final steps of every common conservation and restoration treatment on paintings. This three-day workshop was held from 10th to 12th November 2011 at the Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis in Porto, Portugal. It was organized by Portuguese conservation studio 20 | 21 Conservação e Restauro. Instructive lectures offered a panoramic view of the available materials and techniques for reconstructing the ground and retouching.

Workshop lecturer, professor Laura Fuster-Lopez, has reviewed the mechanical and dimensional properties of the material for the reconstruction of traditional, synthetic and commercial fillers,
 reliability of the used substances, materials and methods to reproduce the texture and impasto, and materials for retouching. The comprehensive program has combined theory and practice, allowing participants to apply 
their own skills and experience in dealing with certain issues.

In the practical part of the workshop we have made molds for the replication of fabric textures and impasto. We have also prepared variety of fillers based on organic and inorganic medium. Participants had a chance to test the application of few ready-made products and prepared mixtures, thereby learning about the material characteristics such as rate of drying, resilience, capacity of modeling, etc.

Also, we have examined the various possibilities of modern media and the industrial produced paint for retouching paintings while exploring their optical properties in hue and saturation, as well as their physical capability of producing the impasto effects.