KINGFIELD – Bright lights beamed on a colorful mural as an art conservationist painted and wiped solvent on the background to remove varnish that had changed it to an orange-color from a creamy tan over the years.

The mural of animals and trees was painted by internationally known artist, illustrator and writer Dahlov Ipcar of Georgetown on the walls of the Kingfield Elementary School in 1980 as the Percent for Art Program for the newly built school.

The school’s mural is one of 10 painted by the artist and only one of three painted on actual walls, Principal Brenda Stevens said Tuesday.

The mural, more than 100 feet long, is in the hallway.

Students from the University of Rzeszow in Poland who are concentrating on conservation art are working under the guidance of R. Alden Marshall of Texas, a preservation award winner for historic restoration.

According to Marshall’s report, the mural and wall are in fair condition.

Coating the surface with a clear oil varnish to protect the original from abrasion was in a theory a good idea, however, the use of a nonreversible yellowing, cross linking varnish for wood floors was unfortunate, Marshall wrote.

The varnish done as maintenance along with nearly three decades of wear and tear and construction of two additions has contributed to the need to have the mural restored, Stevens said.

Marshall proposed that the varnish be removed, which is very time consuming, due to the fact that the original paints used by the artist are at risk from the solvents needed to remove the varnish. He estimated removal of the varnish from the 106-foot long mural and reapplication of a non-yellowing, reversible varnish would take about 30 days.

Marshall’s team was at the school Tuesday working patiently to remove the varnish. One of the ceiling tiles had been removed above the mural to show what the original background paint color looked like.

The crew has been working on site for about a week, Karol Mazurkiewicz, 23, of Poland said. They will begin working nights once school begins Wednesday.

He is enjoying the experience and improving his skills, he said.

“I enjoy working on a mural done by a great person,” echoed Marer Cyrek, 22, of Poland.

Marshall informed them about the artist, and they looked her up on the Internet, Cyrek said.

Five of the six members of the team are four or five years into their studies at the university. Pablo Rodriguez, 34, of Texas, works with Marshall regularly, Rodriguez said. Marshall is known for his restoration of domes and sculptures and other historical art works.

When they redo the background, Cyrek said, they plan to try to match the original paint and will do some in-painting of the animals and trees.

Community members, students and businesses have donated or raised money to get the mural restored. They have enough to cover this phase, Stevens said, which is $18,400. They are continuing to raise money for the next phase, which hasn’t been financially explored yet, she said.

The next step is to put in lighting that does not damage art work as the current fluorescent lighting does and to install something on the floor to prevent anything being moved to get too close to the mural, Stevens said.

“When this phase is done, we’re hoping the artist will come here – she’s now in her 80s, and also have some sort of plaque made up” to explain the mural, she said.