What do you think about varnishes? Are they necessary? Which ones are your favorite? Comment and share below! Amanda is a self-taught artist and founder of The Buzzed Artist, dedicated to teaching adult beginners how to art with confidence using acrylic paint and love themselves in the creation process. But what is so exciting about the end of the year is the promise and hope of the new one- filled with possibility, new dreams, and….
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Happy Thanksgiving, Queen Bees! Paint this pretty acrylic winter landscape on canvas using 3 brushes and just 5 basic paint colors. When it comes to winter, there is a ton of snowy fields, colorful skies, and of course, bare trees. This Snowman Christmas painting is the perfect way to show the wonder and whimsy during this magical time of year.
Some links mentioned below are affiliate links which come at NO extra cost to…. Queen Bees!!! In this…. Skip to content Is it totally necessary to varnish an acrylic painting? Pin it! Notice how the varnished area creates a darker black. Share this Instagram YouTube Pinterest. This result is a finished painting with areas of different sheens. Well, yes and no. A Note for Oil painters If you were varnishing your oil painting or deciding to use a non-removable acrylic varnish , the process is slightly different.
An Isolation Coat This does all the heavy lifting for you. How do you mix an isolation coat? Mix the isolation coat to the consistency of single cream I use products from Golden Acrylics. Common questions about how I apply an isolation coat: Q. Why do you use a brush?
You would also need to use a different medium than the Soft Gel Gloss. Do you ever use a sponge to apply an isolation coat? Working too slow. Going over a nearly dry section of the isolation coat with your brush.
Trying to cover a large area in one go. Applying the isolation coat with bubbles in the mix. Trying to finish with one thick coat, where two thin coats would be better.
Levenson Pissaro and Monet preferred the unvarnished look, and many Impressionists would aim to work on a more absorbent gesso ground. The Matting agent used to create Matte varnish is usually white. Notice the difference in intensity of the black above, depending on the varnish.
So what approach do I take? I apply an isolation coat, which will always be gloss. Protect the painted surface from atmospheric effects to make the surface easier to clean.
Water-based varnish Polymer Water-based varnishes usually are created from an acrylic polymer, similar in consistency to an acrylic glazing liquid. Thinning with water ideally distilled water : 3 Parts Varnish 1 Part distilled Water.
I hope this helps when deciding to varnish your own works. Alison Stafford 19 Dec Reply. Will Kemp 19 Dec Reply. Nadya 19 Dec Reply. Thank You Will for a very useful object!! All your articles really help a lot! The Best!! Thanks Nadya, pleased you found it helpful. Liz Geeslin 19 Dec Reply. Great information Will! Thanks as always for your wonderful site and advise! David Shaiken 19 Dec Reply. Very informative, Will. Thanks for posting this. Tara 19 Dec Reply. Hi Tara, ahh the elusive varnishing decision!
Rachel 19 Dec Reply. Carole Pivarnik 19 Dec Reply. Thanks for a very informative post! I look forward to the oil painting one, as well. Jacque Bernadette 19 Dec Reply. Lois Glass Webb 19 Dec Reply. Norene Schreiner 19 Dec Reply. Tania 19 Dec Reply. Hi Jacque, It would all depend on the position of the lights that would be shining onto the painting, whether the lighting was from above a picture light for example of from the side a bright low window that has strong sunlight shining through The biggest jump in change in glare would be a change in the sheen applied.
Yeside 19 Dec Reply. Oh good one Margaret, great to hear the article was timely for you. Lynne 19 Dec Reply. Thanks Will…really appreciate your arts generosity! Mundo 19 Dec Reply. Hey Will, You are still at your best, Thanks for the info! Happy holidays. In a side profile it looks like this: varnish layer final finish, can be gloss, satin or matte isolation coat must be with the gloss medium paint layer acrylic paint Hope this helps, Will.
Tony Kalemba 19 Dec Reply. Wanda McDonald 19 Dec Reply. Hi Wanda, Nice to hear from you and pleased the varnishing article was good timing for your landscape paintings. Virginia 19 Dec Reply.
Cheers from Australia and Merry Christmas!! Lynda Dinneen 19 Dec Reply. As always Will, you have given such helpful information! Merry Christmas! Thanks Lynda, and a Merry Christmas to you! Shirley Griffin 19 Dec Reply. Lynette Smith 20 Dec Reply. Thanks Will I have been trying to search for that type of information for ages without success! Regards Lyn. Will Kemp 20 Dec Reply. Malini Parker 20 Dec Reply. Sue Maples 20 Dec Reply. Hi Sue, As long as your varnish is dry, bubble wrap is one of the best ways to go.
Make sure the bubbles are facing outwards so it is flat onto the canvas surface A couple of wraps over and the canvas will be well protected.
Will Kemp 21 Dec Reply. Murtaza 22 Dec Reply. Will Kemp 22 Dec Reply. Hi Murtaza, thanks for your very kind comments, so pleased you found the articles helpful. Kristine 22 Dec Reply. Will Kemp 23 Dec Reply. Kristine 23 Dec Reply. Julie Weston 23 Dec Reply. Will Kemp 26 Dec Reply. Have a great Holiday season. Kathy Sturr 27 Dec Reply. Will Kemp 30 Dec Reply. Hi Kathy, I would always try to protect watercolours behind glass, as adding any product to the watersoluble surface of the watercolours runs the risk of re-wetting the paint and the level of protection will not be as great.
Hope it helps, Will. Nancy 8 Aug Reply. Will Kemp 13 Aug Reply. Cheers Nancy for the updated link. Thanks Terri, pleased it helped, Happy New Year! David 31 Dec Reply. Will, Thanks so much for sharing this info. Thank you, David. Will Kemp 2 Jan Reply. Good one David, really pleased you found it helpful.
Lisa Palmer 4 Jan Reply. Will Kemp 7 Jan Reply. Gayatri 5 Jan Reply. Thanks again and Cheers Gayatri.. Anne Swiderski 8 Jan Reply. Will Kemp 9 Jan Reply. Kari 9 Jan Reply. Hi Kari, Both of those buys are excellent products, the Acrylic liquid glazing gloss is perfect for applying thin glazing layers to your paintings, but is not needed for the varnish part of the painting. Hope this helps. Jay Holobach 18 Jan Reply. Will, Brilliant information as per the norm. Thanks Will.
Kind regards, Jay. Will Kemp 18 Jan Reply. Hi Jay, pleased you found the article helpful, to answer your questions: -Is there such a thing as an expiration date on varnish? So, for example, in a recipe that requires ml of isolation coat, ml would be soft gel gloss and 50ml would be water, this would be 2 parts soft gel gloss to 1 part water or Hope this helps Jay, Cheers, Will. Will Kemp 29 Jan Reply. Connie 30 Jan Reply. Thank you Will for the information.
I will keep this in my files. Will Kemp 30 Jan Reply. Good one Connie, Cheers, Will. Liz 17 Feb Reply. Will Kemp 17 Feb Reply. Sharon Jordan 5 Mar Reply.
Will Kemp 7 Mar Reply. Muzzi 30 Oct Reply. Hi Will, Great article! Thank you, Muzzi. Will Kemp 30 Oct Reply. Ken Cudmore 6 Mar Reply. Jim Cotts 12 Mar Reply. Will the varnish not eventually turn yellow? Will Kemp 12 Mar Reply. Man-made Synthetic varnishes do not yellow if they do yellow at all it is a very slight shift compared with natural varnishes Hope this helps, Will. Will Kemp 17 Apr Reply. David 17 Apr Reply. Will Kemp 19 Apr Reply. David 21 Apr Reply.
Tomoko Ouchi 11 Aug Reply. Will Kemp 12 Aug Reply. Tomoko Ouchi 13 Aug Reply. Rdbot 4 Sep Reply. Some questions: How dangerous is it to leave a watercolor painting unvarnished? Or is there a varnish that is absolutely matt? Would a brushed on application work better in this case for reducing hotspots? Thank you all in advance, look fwd. Best, R. Will Kemp 4 Sep Reply. Hope this helps, Cheers, Will The watersoluble nature of the paint makes.
Charles 10 Dec Reply. Hi Will thanks for these articles. Will Kemp 10 Dec Reply. Anna 8 Feb Reply. Just a bit anxious about experimenting with varnishing on acrylic for the first time… Anna. Will Kemp 12 Feb Reply. To answer your questions: Painting drying time Isolation can be applied after 24 hours drying with standard acrylics.
Drying time between layers of isolation coats You only need one layer of isolation coat Isolation coat drying time before applying the varnish Ideally 24 hours, but can be done in a few hours when touched dry Drying time between layers of varnish. Heather Brown 27 Mar Reply. Will Kemp 30 Mar Reply.
Karen 10 May Reply. Thank you!! Will Kemp 11 May Reply. Karen Wynn 26 May Reply. Thanks, Will! Okay, I will consider it as a not-yet-quite-completed work, and fix it with paint. Linda 26 May Reply. Will Kemp 26 May Reply. Hi Linda, did you use the Extra heavy gel ontop of the oil? Yes, I used oil first then the acrylic medium gel.
Will Kemp 28 May Reply. Lina 28 May Maybe I did not explain myyself First I made Giclee, then I enhanced with oil colors not painting everything Next I went over covering all and adding some texture with Golden Gel Gloss medium which is acrylic…Now, do I varnish with acrylic based varnish or oil based varnish?
Thx and sorry for the confusion! Will Kemp 28 May Linda 28 May Okay, good one Linda, hope the piece turns out well. Lina 9 Jun Reply. Will Kemp 9 Jun Hi Lina, pleased the painting worked out well for you. Linda 10 Jun Thanks…guessI will throw out the canvas rather than take a chance! Nicole Bergmann 14 Jul Reply. Will Kemp 15 Jul Reply. Nicole Bergmann 16 Jul Reply. Will Kemp 16 Jul Reply.
Shirley 27 Jul Reply. Will Kemp 30 Jul Reply. Christy 12 Aug Reply. Rey 6 Oct Reply. Will Kemp 7 Oct Reply. Hi Will, Thanks for the info. Will Kemp 28 Oct Reply. Will Kemp 11 Nov Reply. Sarah 29 Oct Reply. Will Kemp 29 Oct Reply. Hugop, abstract painter 9 Nov Reply.
Laura 11 Nov Reply. Will Kemp 13 Nov Reply. Monica 7 Jan Reply. Hello Will, I recently varnished an acrylic abstract painting with Liquitex High Gloss varnish undiluted , and I did not do a good job.
Below is the recommends process from Liquitex : the bold has been added by me 1. Jeanine 6 Feb Reply. Will Kemp 8 Feb Reply. Eva 24 Jul Reply. Thank you, Eva. Will Kemp 25 Jul Reply. Eva 25 Jul Will Kemp 25 Jul Great to hear it Eva.
Maureen 9 Feb Reply. Thanks in advance for your time and advice. Will Kemp 11 Feb Reply. Will Kemp 25 Mar Reply. Will Kemp 29 Mar Reply. Zed 14 Apr Reply. Could you help me out by sending me a to the point information or the reply to my questions as asked below: 1- I would like to know the brand keeping in view a cheaper price, like Liquitex or Golden, which is better please?
Will Kemp 14 Apr Reply. Hi Zed, Nice to hear from you, to answer your questions: 1- I would like to know the brand keeping in view a cheaper price, like Liquitex or Golden, which is better please?
Gloss varnish will be best for high saturation. Shirley 14 Apr Reply. Denny Martindale 7 Jun Reply. Will Kemp 9 Jun Reply. Hope it helps Denny, Cheers, Will.
Monique Oliver 25 Jun Reply. Will Kemp 26 Jun Reply. Micaelina 14 Jul Reply. Will Kemp 14 Jul Reply. Carolyn 15 Sep Reply.
Will Kemp 15 Sep Reply. Carolyn 16 Sep Reply. Thank you so very much Will for the advice. It is greatly appreciated. Will Kemp 16 Sep Reply. Matthijs 20 Oct Reply. Will Kemp 24 Oct Reply. Tricia Sutton 27 Oct Reply. Sonia 22 Nov Reply. Will Kemp 28 Nov Reply. Judy Mather 4 Dec Reply. Will Kemp 9 Dec Reply. Judy 9 Dec Reply. Thank you so much for your help always. Will Kemp 10 Jan Reply. Marj 11 Feb Reply. Thank you for the explicit information. Brendan 15 Feb Reply.
Will Kemp 16 Feb Reply. Megan Cosido 18 Feb Reply. Will Kemp 18 Feb Reply. Laura 19 Mar Reply. Will Kemp 21 Mar Reply.
Laura 23 Mar Reply. I experimented with matte spray varnish but didnt see much difference. Cant stand a glossy look so I stay away from those.
I dont varnish at all now. I generally prefer a matte look myself but I understand that a gloss finish can really bring out the colors in more muted pieces. I tend to split the difference and go for a satin varnish. I personally think that it adds a bit of zing to a painting, acrylic can look a little flat at times. Varnishing had had some bad press lately with a number of horror stories appearing in these forums. I have used both brush and spray applied varnishes, with or without isolation coats, with no problems whatever.
Does anyone know — is it OK to paint over varnish? Michele Traum Fine Art. Hmm…satin finish…I did not think of that! Horror stories? Also it is important to recognize the difference between removable varnish and permanent varnish. I also like that I can go back later and paint over it if desired. In my experience sometimes acrylics lose their shine when dry and a soft sheen varnish seems to bring back the brightness and give it a finished look.
Varnish gives much the same effect you get if you put water on something — while wet the colors look brighter and deeper. Not a neccessity but something I am now choosing to do with all my paintings, be they acrylic or oil. This necessitates the use of solvents which might damage the paint layer for their removal. Basically, you have to make sure whatever you are varnishing with can be easily cleaned off without destroying the underlying painting.
Check this link out to get more in-depth info into the issue. You can apply an isolation coat if you feel you are ok with how this layer impacts the color and finish glossy vs.
This coat is something that is put on the finished painting to completely isolate it from the top coat of varnish. You might only remove a little bit of the isolation coat. But, this means you have introduced another possible chemical reaction. So, if I owned a possible 20k museum masterpiece, I would do this.
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