Lou McClung at work restoring a statue
Restoration work by artist Lou McClung is an on-going endeavor. Not only does he restore statues for his Museum of Divine Statues, but he also does commissions for institutions and individuals of both old statuary that has fallen into disrepair and new statuary that needs to be painted. He draws on his experience as a make-up artist with his own business (Lusso Cosmetics) when restoring these often neglected pieces of beautiful statuary.
Most of the older pieces are made of plaster and horse hair, so they frequently have had paint chip away, have lost fingers, or other elements, of their original form as they have been moved and jostled throughout the years. Lou also uses his experience in construction to craft solutions for anything from a missing hand to a broken pedestal, before his even begins to apply paint. The end result being a statue that often looks better then it did originally and now has renewed life. His respect for old world craftsmanship coupled with his desire to preserve history, have brought about a museum (housed in a re-proposed church) and a restoration business which gives these beautiful old pieces of statuary a new life, which young and old can experience anew.
For more information on restoration or commissions please visit www.divinestatues.com.
Lou uses his experience as a makeup artist to give his statuary natural looking faces and features
