Restoration By Heart has an long-term and well established reputation for the highest quality Art Restoration available.
We provide excellent value and we take every measure to preserve your treasured works of art. Please take a moment to read just a few of the testimonials that were graciously provided by our customers.
In over 28-years as a photojournalist, and approximately 9-years as a legal video specialist, I have never damaged anyone's property.
Well, not long ago my impeccable record was soiled. Unfortunately, I had the dreaded misfortune of severely damaging a new client's original art work during an assignment (yikes!).
Needles to say, I was horrified and truly ashamed that I had inadvertently ruined a very unique body of work, and chastised myself repeatedly for not being more sensitive relative to the environment in which I was working.
When I returned to my office, I began searching the Internet hoping to find a firm to restore my client's priceless art work to it's former luster.
Fortunately for me, I discovered Restoration by Heart on the web. After thoroughly researching their site, I was convinced the firm was reputable and contacted Heart's representative the next day to enlist their services.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that one of Heart's offices was literally blocks away from my client's office! Rod (the firm's representative) arrived the next day (on time) to retrieve the damaged art work, and within 2-weeks informed me that the original composition was restored!
Not only was the valuable piece restored beyond my wildest dreams, but the rate for services rendered was more than reasonable! Their fee was within the parameters of the original estimated quote!
In this day of greed and deception, I am happy to confirm to anyone -- this firm maintains "old school" ethics and integrity.
I truly do not have the words to describe how elated I am regarding Mr. Gustavo Perez' care, professionalism, and phenomenal expertise in restoring my client's art work to it's original condition.
My client inspected the piece, and was overwhelmed with joy to see one of his favorite works of art prominently displayed in it's proper place -- on the wall in his law firm's conference room!
Notice that throughout this letter I have repeatedly said "my client". Well, I seriously doubt that I would have retained "my client" if not for the incredible miracle performed by Mr. Gustavo Perez.
If you are looking for a firm that knows and respects their craft, values you as a client -- then look no further because you've found them. Gustavo Perez and the professionals with Restoration by Heart can restore your works of art beyond your expectations!Michael Jones - "Restoration by Heart Helped Me Retain A Valuable Client"
This is a first. Although I've arranged to have several heirloom photographs preserved over the years, I've never before experienced the level of satisfaction that I feel now that I've received the photo of my maternal grandparents' wedding back from Restoration by Heart. And I am impressed not only by remarkable techniques of the artist who performed the service so that his work blends invisibly with the original, but also by the manner in which the service was arranged. My naive questions were treated with consideration, and the available treatments and their prices were clearly explained so that I could proceed with the assurance that the work would be carefully done. Even so, I could not have guessed that the work could have been so perfectly done as Restoration by Heart has managed to do it. I'm beyond pleased.
Diane M. - "I'm beyond pleased"
I do not have words to express how satisfied I am with the work of Restoration By Heart. The results are incredible and worth the waiting. My works have been done by the time I requested, in some cases I have let them to take the time they needed because no urgency was involved. To tell the truth I do not plan to use any other restorer, because I believe Gustavo Perez is the best, previously I had a very bad experiences with other so called restorers who have ruined several very important family pieces. Here is small list of some of the works done by Mr. Perez for me, 2 Picasso, 2 Rivera, 1 Mignot, 1 Hunter,1 Potter, 2 Rembrandt, 1 Dr. Atl, and many others. Mr. Perez lives and works in Temecula and he does not mind visitors. I hope my humble opinion could help you to make up your mind.
Gaby B. - "I do not plan to use any other restorer"
I had one limited edition serigraph by Patrick Nagel that I purchased off of eBay that had significant damage: paper bent, and even ripped about an inch into the image. I called the Portland Art Museum (I live in Oregon), and I had their restorationist work on it. She did a fair job, but the damage still apparent despite her best efforts. She also explained that serigraphs (silk-screened images) are particularly tough to restore because of the texture...with Nagel's pristine style making it all the more complicated. Nagels images are tough, because they have large sections of solid blocks of color, making it so that any imperfection, no matter how small, stands out. They don't get "lost" as they would in works by an artist that has lots of colors mixed and juxtaposed. The Portland Art Museum restorationist actually asked me to see if I could find another restorationist, since Nagel's serigraph were always going to be very challenging for her.
So.... I had an artist's proof of another Nagel that looked like something had been dripped on it. In this case the spots were tiny, but again, in a large, solid, color field, they really stuck out. It really made it tough for me to enjoy looking at the print. My eyes were always drawn to the spotting. I found Rod and Gustavo on the Internet, and liked how they responded to my questions. (Others wanted to charge a fee, some very high, to even look at the piece before they had done anything to it, other than asses the restoration needs.) So, I sent it to Rod to have Gustavo take a look at it. I figured, worst case, they quote too high and I have them send it back, and I have lost the postage there and back.
In a few days, Rod emailed me back what Gustavo's recommendations were and what the costs would be. They offered me three different options. Because of the type if drip, traditional cleaning was not going to do the trick...it would require repainting. One option was to paint the impacted area and the near corner to avoid any kind of noticeable shift in color.
The other two options (both more expensive) were to repaint all of that one color that had the spotting in it throughout the entire painting, and the last was to retouch the whole painting, which would also remove the faint scuffing in the black (which was invisible when framed anyway). The recommended the first option for $250, which was $150 less then the restoration I had had done here in Portland of the other piece. So, I thought, "Okay, well, we'll see how good this looks." I also kept a second, plate-signed version of the print in case anything went horribly wrong with the restoration. (While screen-signed, it was MINT.)
To say I am very fussy is an understatement. I think my primary art broker ceased to work with me because what he thought was "mint" and what I thought were "mint" were two very different things. I had to send too many prints back to him for unstated-at-the-time-of-purchase condition issues that I always found that he had overlooked.
Anyway, back to the restoration by Gustavo. I had told Rod I was in no hurry to get the print back, as I had no plans to display the serigraph on my wall for six months. (I rotate my art on and off the walls.) I told Rod to have Gustavo do other things first, since they were in the process of moving Gustavo's studio. At this point, I still had not paid anything but shipping the print to them. So, as agreed and expected, the print shipped back to me a few months later and, then, after looking over the print, I mailed them a check for $250.00
Honestly, I was expecting to be able to find a shift in color or texture at the restored area, as Rod told me, before any restoration was done, it might be noticeable in "raking light" as the pigment is a soft, flat ink with a distinct texture. ..and when light shines at any angle on Nagel prints, even the slightest of bends or paper traumas becomes apparent. So, I opened up the package, and, really, the print was PERFECT. I inspected the print as closely as one could without their nose touching the surface. Even in raking light, the restoration is completely invisible. I said to Rod and I will say it again: If I did not know better, I would swear that they simply sent me a brand new, never spotted, mint artist's proof of the serigraph. I happily parted with my unsigned version of the same print on eBay and kept the one Gustavo restored.
I was very very happy, not only with the final results (which, in the end is all that matters), the pricing, and process of letting me feel in control of what was being done. I cannot honestly comment on their normal timeline, since I had prefaced our whole conversation by saying I did not need the print back for six months. I did get it back much sooner than that. They had it back to me three months sooner than requested. I have several more Nagel (bless eBay, the home of unwanted -and often damaged- art) that I plan to send to Rod and Gustavo. I don't plan to use any other restorationists...I cannot think of why I would want to go to anyone else. I got a very good price, and the serigraph came back looking perfect!
Mark W. - "I opened up the package, and, really, the print was PERFECT"
"We have had Mr. Perez restore another piece of art for us and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend him and the staff at Restoration by Heart because they provide honest, dependable service"
We purchased a Lithograph by Erte depicting the bust of a sophisticated woman wearing a veil over her face. It had been in it's frame for over 30 years. When we took it to a frame store to have it re-framed, the image was discolored and where the matting had been there was a ring of brown. The framer said he didn't think it could be cleaned and he didn't know of anybody who could help us. We called around to some art houses seeking advice and were told that kind of restoration, even if it was possible, would cost more money than the artwork was worth. We really loved this piece because of it's simplicity and of the lovely woman discretely visible behind the veil. She looked so sad in her current condition and we were not happy she had to look the way she did either. Our little socialite had fallen on hard times.
One day while searching the web, We came upon a company called Restoration By Heart. We read about the repair services they provided and of damage called Foxing and Matte Burn which happens to the paper of older artwork and from improper framing techniques. This sounded like what might be wrong with our artwork. We contacted Rod Hewitt and were advised it would be best to send it in and have the restorer Gustavo Perez take a look at it. We had also read about Mr. Perez on the web site and he seemed like a very talented man who loved art and was very passionate about his work. His resume was also very impressive. Mr. Hewitt spoke highly of Mr. Perez and we were assured our artwork would be well taken care of. So we decided to send it in since there was no charge to look at it and if it could not be repaired or would be to expensive, we would just be out the shipping cost. After looking at it, Mr. Perez said that our little lady was in pretty bad shape from years of neglect but he was confident he could get her cleaned up and looking good again.
So we held our breath waiting to be floored by what the cost would be remembering what the art houses had told us. We were amazed that it was very affordable and well worth it considering the time that would have to be spent restoring our lovely piece.
When our artwork was returned to us, the difference was so startling. Our little sophisticated lady that was so sad looking and brown in color came back home vibrant and full of life. She looked every bit the lovely socialite that her creator Erte intended her to be. She was once again the queen of the party. She is now the most prized possession in our collection, she just sparkles.
We have had Mr. Perez restore another piece of art for us and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend him and the staff at Restoration by Heart because they provide honest, dependable service. Everyone we have talked to takes the time to explain all the details of the services they provide and are very friendly. Most of all, Mr. Perez is a talented master craftsman at what he does. He is concerned about the art world and it's preservation. He truly represents the company and it's Restoration by Heart.
Pat and Diane A.
