An Introduction to Varnishing an Oil Painting
As we’ve discussed in 3 Reasons why artists varnish their work (and why some artists don’t) varnishing is primarily an aesthetic choice on the final finish of your painting.
Not only can it really bring up the vibrancy and richness in your realist paintings but it offers protection for the painted surface from atmospheric effects to make the surface easier to clean in the future.
No One technique for varnishing suits every situation — the texture of the paint surface, whether you want a matte or gloss finish, speed of completion etc.. all effect which varnish you choose.
There are different considerations to think about when you’re working with Oils in comparison to Acrylics, so here are some common questions to check before getting out the varnish brush…
1. How long should I wait before varnishing an Oil Painting?
When you’re varnishing an oil painting it really depends on how thick or thin the paint application is. So if you work in very thin layers it dries a lot quicker than if you work impasto with thicker blobs of paint.
The other thing to consider when using Artist quality paints is which pigment you are painting with – if it’s a quick drying or slow drying pigment.
For example, if you’re using Alizarin crimson or Ivory black which are very slow drying, (there is a lot of oil used in the binding process of the oil paint) it would take a lot longer to dry compared to if you used a fast drying paint such as Raw umber which has a lower oil content in it. Earth colours such as Raw umber dry a lot quicker.
Pro tip: Some brands of student quality oil paints contain driers in their slower drying pigments in order to bring the drying times closer together.
Drying rates tend to average out as colours are almost always mixed on the palette, so the drying times tend to equalise to a great degree.
N.B This is just a reference to traditional oil paints and different drying times of each pigments, I’m not referring to ‘Quick drying oil paints’ that dry within a day