There are new details on the work to preserve City-owned watercolors by well-regarded local artist Rachel Bentley.  In addition to cleaning and removing damaging adhesive from the watercolors the goal of the project is to make the art, which depicts colorful scenes of local history, accessible to the public.  Because of the delicate nature of watercolor art there are few locations where the art can be hung without putting it in jeopardy of being “light struck” and fading.  To avoid damage and also allow greatest public access to viewing them, high quality photographic facsimiles of the watercolors will be made.  The facsimiles will be matted, framed and hung in the library thereby preserving the delicate original watercolors.  The work involved in the preservation of the original artwork and the preparation and framing of the facsimiles will total approximately $8,000 for all 10 watercolors.   The cost is not out of line with what had been originally estimated when the plan to preserve the work was first discussed early in 2014.  Additional funding is through the City Manager’s Office.