Varnishing Your Work (Ep.64) Transcript
Please note: This is an incredibly rough, computer generated transcript from my conversation with Mary Weisenburger from Gamblin (Ep.64). It has not been checked by a human. To listen to the full audio version, head here.
Mary Weisenburger 0:00
varnish is your protection of your artwork over the many, many years, decades or even a century or two.
Kelly Anne Powers 0:10
Hello and welcome to the learn to paint podcast the show that gives you the tools and ideas to help you design your own artistic path. I'm your host Kelly Ann powers. Today is an actual mini I'm talking with Mary Weisenberger from Gamblin and we are discussing varnish. In the conversation you'll learn why you might want to varnish your work your options when it comes to varnishing, and what to do if a varnish doesn't go quite as planned. Plus a whole lot more for shownotes had to learn to paint podcast.com/podcast/episode 64 All right, here we go. Hi, Mary. Welcome to the podcast mini episode. Today we're going to talk about varnishing to start out for those who may be unfamiliar. What is varnish?
Mary Weisenburger 0:56
Hey, Kelly, excited to talk about Brian machine today. It's definitely the most frequent thing we get asked about at Gamblin and varnish is really important to consider as an artist once you start building collections, selling your work having people become collectors of your work, or if you're even just giving them away to friends and family. Varnish is your protection of your artwork over the many many years, decades, or even a century or two that it's on display. Your final varnish is uppermost protective layer that's going to preserve your pain over the many years from atmospheric damage like dust, dirt, grime, smoke, all the things that a painting can be protected from is what the varnish serves to
Kelly Anne Powers 1:53
do. Does the varnish protect from sunlight
Mary Weisenburger 1:56
as well? Some varnishes do some varnishes have UVA light inhibitors for sensitive pigments in the case of our Gam Farr varnish a Gamblin ours does not. But mainly because the oil colors we make are highly light, fast and resistant to fading. And we touched on that with some detail in one of our previous segments on why it's so important to make sure that your paints are like fast,
Kelly Anne Powers 2:26
and we'll link to that show in the show notes. So folks can go over there and take a listen to that episode. So then, what are the types of varnish and what do they affect?
Mary Weisenburger 2:36
Mainly, varnish, when it varies from different formulas has to do with the gloss level of the varnish because in addition to providing surface protection, the other benefit of a varnish is that it can change the way your painting looks in terms of its gloss level. If you prefer high gloss semi gloss satin, which is kind of somewhere in the middle, like a little sparkle, but not too much. Or if you prefer your painting to be flat, matte appearance with no reflective glare. When light is shone on it. That's the difference you often come up with different varnishes is their level of gloss level.
Kelly Anne Powers 3:20
Not all pigments are the same level of gloss does that mean it helps unify all of your pigments to the same level of gloss or not?
Mary Weisenburger 3:27
glossiness precisely. And this is something that can be really troublesome when you're first starting off painting is when you realize how oil paintings are very prone to having different degrees of gloss as they dry. And sometimes people think they're doing something wrong that it's them but really, it's often the oil paint and how from color to color paints can vary a lot in terms of the gloss and how shiny they are or how matte they look. And in addition to the surface protection, the other great thing about Gam bar is how it unifies everything to the same surface quality and just completes that image and makes the painting look more finished.
Kelly Anne Powers 4:12
When in the process. Should an artist bring in a varnish? I guess let's just confirm that varnishing is done at the end like the paint Yes,
Mary Weisenburger 4:19
straight. That's right. In fact, it's not advisable with our Gam far to be putting it in between layers. It's only meant to be the final layer at the uppermost surface.
Kelly Anne Powers 4:33
Where does your painting need to be to have it be ready for a varnish? Well,
Mary Weisenburger 4:39
the nice thing about Gaffar is you don't need to wait a terribly long amount of time it can be applied to both oil and acrylic artwork as well. If someone has an acrylic painting, you're usually looking at maybe a day or two after it's dry before you can apply it and for oil paintings which on average, take longer to dry. Usually we're looking at a few weeks two to three weeks on average for your painting that has thin layers. When something has thicker texture, like real heavy application of paint, you might be safer waiting a month or longer just for those layers to start to feel firm and no longer squishy to the touch. This is because Gam var does contain Gamsol. Our solvent that we make. Gamsol is very mild, but it does still have some dissolving capabilities. So your painting needs to be dry to the touch throughout before you apply it. Otherwise, you don't want to end up smearing some of that paint that you work so hard on.
Kelly Anne Powers 5:44
It's hard because there's always a moment in the studio where like, well, I've probably waited long enough and it's like, let's let's wait longer just to be sure.
Mary Weisenburger 5:53
I think playing it safe and waiting as long as you can is the best route although sometimes you can be under a time crunch. If you've got a commission you need to get out the door or an exhibition right around the corner. budgeting your time giving yourself at least several weeks is the wise move for oil paintings. How do
Kelly Anne Powers 6:13
you prepare an oil painting for varnish or is it purely just you pour it straight on and you're done?
Mary Weisenburger 6:19
Oh, with Gam var, we highly encourage people to not pour it on at all costs. In fact, it's usually how someone ends up with too much varnish on their paintings, which is a common occurrence that we help folks with when too much gets on the painting and often dries to a really sticky finish that never goes away. Or with the mat. It can have a cloudy brush, white brush marks so Deeley when your varnish and your painting, you don't need very much at all to thinly cover it and you'll get yourself a little bowl or cup and pour just a small amount of varnish into that and then use that to dip your varnishing brush into the bowl. We do have a Gam var varnish brush that I would highly encourage anyone to check out if they're looking to try Gam var or if they've used Gam VAR in the past, we just came out with that brush in early 2020. And having the right type of brush can play a huge role in how successfully you get it on your artwork. Because the key application is to get it on there very thinly with a light feathering motion.
Kelly Anne Powers 7:34
What characteristics do you want your brush to have? Like What characteristics does that the Gamblin brush have?
Mary Weisenburger 7:40
It has synthetic bristles that are very thin, and it's a flat brush, the thickness and lack thereof really helps prevent you from getting too much on your painting. And it also has the correct softness the bristles do to contour with the shape of your painting and get it on there thinly. So the brush itself is really crucial to having the right application.
Kelly Anne Powers 8:08
Right sounds like thin is the key for application.
Mary Weisenburger 8:11
Yes, yes. can't emphasize that enough.
Kelly Anne Powers 8:14
I've heard the term oiling out what is oiling out and what is it do?
Mary Weisenburger 8:19
So oiling out is a process that really helps when you're ready to varnish painting has some really dull spots in it. And that's a common occurrence. If you paint really thinly or if you're using dark pigments or earthtone pigments. As they dry they can look really flat and sunken and dull. And varnishing can help with that. But there are circumstances where if that paint layer is really thirsty and dull looking. The varnish itself will also dry unevenly on your painting and not do the job of unifying that we wanted it to the oiling out process mainly helps as a precursor to varnishing as a way to feed some oil back into those thirsty dry patches on an artwork and bring the colors up. As a side note to oiling out just happen at the end. It can also be used in between paint layers while you're making your artwork. If you haven't worked on a painting for a while and it's gotten real sunken and dead looking. It's a method of brushing on and wiping away a fluid medium like our gal kid and it restores the colors and helps reduce any unwanted absorbency that the painting might have prior to varnish Shane are recommended oiling out mixture is a one to one gallon bucket and Gamsol mix that's brushed onto your artwork absorbed for several minutes and then you wipe off If the excess with a lint free cloth, it can be repeated as necessary to sometimes you might have a really thirsty painting that might need one or two oil out treatments and it's just a really good way to help with those sunken dry paintings that often occur. And to be clear oiling out isn't always required before varnishing, but it is a really good step. If your painting is looking really dry and patchy before you put the varnish on your oil it out and then wait about a day or two at the longest and then put the varnish on.
Kelly Anne Powers 10:38
And would you wait a day or two? Also, if you were using it in between layers,
Mary Weisenburger 10:42
you wouldn't have to? That's a great question. If you were oiling out in between layers, you could immediately start painting into the wet surface or you could wait for it to be dry, whatever would best suit your technique. If you prefer, wet into wet or wet over dry.
Kelly Anne Powers 10:59
Walk us through how you do the actual varnishing itself.
Mary Weisenburger 11:03
Like I said earlier, the emphasis is a little goes a long way. A four ounce bottle of Dan var has a square foot coverage of 80 square feet, just like an eight by 10 foot painting with just a little four ounce bottle, I find that visual description really helps to emphasize how a little goes a long way. And once you get a bowl and your brush, I would also recommend getting some paper towels or rags to have on standby to blot your brush off on because you'll want to load your brush up with just a little bit of varnish, overloading the brush is an easy way to get too much on your artwork. So usually you take the brush, dip it into your bowl that has varnish in it and just get the edges and tips of the bristles loaded up. And if you ever accidentally, you know get too much in there, having a rack of paper towel over off to the side to blot it off on is so helpful. And once you get your brush all ready with the varnish, you unload it onto the artwork in a nice sweeping gesture and then you feather it out in every possible direction. So it's not the approach where you're doing a very uniform up down horizontal vertical, it's somewhat of the opposite manner where you are spreading it in every possible direction, like criss cross back forth up down. As a disclaimer to this is how Gam var is applied. There are other varnishes by different companies out there that have different application instructions or recommended techniques. So if you're ever trying something different out or if you're new to using Gam far, my best advice is to practice on a test painting. Before you go to put it on your really important commission or a series of 12 paintings that are due at a gallery. Just do yourself a favor whenever you're trying to new varnish out and and be careful to test it properly.
Kelly Anne Powers 13:18
Do you only use one layer of Gaffar and then it's done or should an artist use multiple layers of damn bar,
Mary Weisenburger 13:25
it's one and done just one coat. And that's all you need just a single coat of Gam var is going to give you adequate protection for the many many years it's on display. And with the satin and the matte Gam far in particular, we really don't advise multiple coats due to the beeswax matting agent that is in those which make them less glossy as they dry. When one starts putting layer after layer of the satin and matte. Often people end up with a patchy or cloudy look because they're building up a concentration of those matting agents. So just one thin coat is super important for the satin and the matte versions and the gloss on the other hand, it does not have any matting agents. So the gloss gown var can have multiple thin coats and the main benefit you get from that is higher and higher gloss and more of a sparkly shiny look as it dries and some artists really want that. So our advice there would be to apply the layers very thinly and give the varnish 24 hours to dry in between layers. If you're wanting to do multiple layers of gloss and I assume dry flat Yes. Does very important. If you have it upright, it can drip and then be uneven and you'll see the drips.
Kelly Anne Powers 14:55
I have a sense that someone might call you and say like this is happening with the varnish what did I do wrong?
Mary Weisenburger 15:01
Do you have some examples of if someone is seeing x, it may mean why the most common thing that comes up in our technical support is usually the result of the varnish being put on too heavily with the satin in the mat. People can frequently expect to see streaks or a fogginess when it's applied to thick. The other thing that often comes up is when someone has applied any of the varnishes and it dries unevenly on their paintings. So some areas look glossy and great and other areas. It's like nothing happened at all. And in these scenarios, either a streaky application or an uneven application, the first thing that's going to have to happen is the varnish is going to need to come off. I know that sounds really scary. Often people are terrified at the thought of removing varnish. But one of the best parts about Gam var is how easy it is to remove off artwork with Gamsol. The same solvent that is used to make the varnish it readily dissolves it in a matter of seconds. And if your painting was dry enough to be varnished with Gam var, it's safe to be removed off, the varnish can be removed off safely with Gamsol. And that's usually what we walk people through is gently removing it section by section with Gamsol on a soft rag. In the case of how someone's varnish dried on evenly, we would usually recommend that the oiling out process after they've removed their varnish and then reapplying it nine out of 10 times it goes down evenly after they've boiled it out. And for the case of a streaky application. Normally, they need some tips on how to get it on there thinner. But it could also be their brush that caused the problem if they were using, say a thick mop brush with like really dense heavy bristles that just laid it down too thick. Or we've seen it too with the foam style application brushes. Single use often those can really lay it down on evenly and you get a foggy appearance as it dries. And those are the most common ones. The other thing that can happen too with Gam var, if it's applied too thickly is it can have a very sticky, tacky feel months after it's been applied. And for all of these scenarios, folks often ask if another coat would help Can I just put another on? And often this just makes the whole thing worse. And really when things don't go right the best solution that we walk people through is how to remove it and then what steps they might need to take to make sure the next application is more successful.
Kelly Anne Powers 17:59
I'm laughing because I have definitely had that thought it was with a different brand on acrylic paint. And I definitely had that thought like oh, it's tacky. Maybe if I just add another layer it would solve it and luckily I didn't do anything. I just waited way longer but I love that that's the instinct but stop. Don't do that.
Mary Weisenburger 18:17
Stop what you're doing and and with tackiness to sometimes it might be you didn't do anything wrong, and it's the environment, like if it was particularly humid, when you were varnishing that can cause the dry time to take longer and for it to have a little bit more tacky stickiness for several days. So sometimes waiting it out before you make any decisions is another step you can take when something goes wrong with the varnishing.
Kelly Anne Powers 18:44
What about if someone has a painting that is completely dry? But they've worked in the impasto technique where there's a bunch of ridges and valleys and brush strokes, but it's got a lot of texture? How should someone approach a painting that has a lot of texture when it comes to varnishing.
Mary Weisenburger 19:00
This is one of the big reasons why we did develop the Gaffar brush and why it has a specific softness to the bristles so that it can get into all those little nooks and crannies. When you have an impasto, textured valleys or really heavy application and you want to make sure that everything is covered, it can be a lot more challenging to varnish a textured painting, and having some paper towels or a rack handy is really helpful for textured artwork because you want to make sure that there's no pooling or collecting an excess in any of those valleys or anywhere where the varnish can pool and having good light setup is also very key because after you've applied it, you want to check to make sure it's not collecting an excess and that's when you can block your brush off really well on a rag or towel so that that point you have practically no varnish on your brush and use that to wick out any excess varnish that collected and once again, letting it dry flat too is crucial for a textured painting.
Kelly Anne Powers 20:16
You can learn more about varnish and about all the great materials you might want for painting an oil at gamblings, website, Gamblin colors.com and on Instagram, and we'll link to everything in the show notes. Thank you so much for being with us today. Mary.
Mary Weisenburger 20:28
Thank you. It was great.
Kelly Anne Powers 20:29
Thank you for joining me today on the podcast for show notes head to learntopaintpodcast.com/podcast/episode64 And if you're interested in supporting the show, check out patreon.com/and learn to paint podcast sign up at any tier and get access to a bunch of great bonus conversations with guests. Thank you to all of you already supporting the show with the podcast art club. Extra shiny thank yous to high gloss supporters, Andrew Attebery, Debbie and Brian Miller, Reanna Da Rold, Janet Wheeler, Nancy Bryant , Kathryn Ordway , Pam Lyle and Victoria Young., happy painting
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