Whatever you decide is best for you and your paintings, its always worth knowing good professional practice. I ask because with the type of art I do I cant mix water with the medium and I suspect the gel medium is going to be too thick for me? Am I screwed? I want to protect them from fading over time, but have read that varnish will absorb into the paper and cant be removed over time. Dont know if I should take a chance on them still being good. Oh thanks so much, is it too late to do that isolation coat and go over it again with varnish? Some give you the ability to sculpt, while others make it possible to paint on fabric. 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. Hi Anna, nice to hear from you, I havent personally used the Winsor & Newton gloss gel as an isolation coat so wouldnt be able to say for sure if it would work in the same manner in terms of consistency and dilution with water. They are convenient, cleanup friendly and dont smell strong; however, they are harder to apply evenly on larger areas with a brush as they dry too quickly for big canvases. Thanks Lynda, and a Merry Christmas to you! Is it okay to use a spray varnish which has not been used at all in more than a year to varnish this painting? Ill be doing another article on the best practice for oil paint varnishes soon, lots of cross-overs but a few different considerations. Cheers, Will. Hi Coco, for acrylics, I tend to apply an isolation coat first to even the sheen and then apply a varnish on top of that to the desired sheen level Im after. You can always return to this blog for more information on using other media types in your artwork. The differences in sheen will be due to the differences in amount of acrylic polymer (which is usually glossy) the differences in amount of flow medium and the different absorption rates into the painting support. Its a bit like adding a non-removable water based permanent varnish. Thanks Marty; I didnt find a clear answer to the physical differences between acrylic matte medium and acrylic matte varnish so I have emailed Liquitex. A couple of wraps over and the canvas will be well protected. When I went to Art store, I felt more confused then ever. I recently used Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid (Gloss) Medium as a finish coat for a portrait, and like the results. help asap. Devon. I am still waiting for Liquitex to reply. If yes, what varnish should I use? I am using a satin spray varnish. Ive read horror stories about storing and shipping paintings oil and acrylic. Cheers, Will, Hi Will, Great, thank you for your advice! remove and replace the varnish then you need to apply an isolation coat first. Cezannes art dealer Vollard quotes Renoir from 1879: The day before the opening, a friend came and told me that he had just been to the Salon, and that something queer seemed to have happened to my Mademoiselle Samary. The only issue was it went grey over time. Im here because I was looking for troubleshooting after the fact. Hi Liz, its due to the different absorbency of the oil paints into the canvas and would need oiling out to even the sheen. The matte medium can work great if youre using extremely thick paint, such as those used for oil paintings or something similar, and want to create some texture with it. There are 2 main choices for your acrylic paintingeither a water-based varnish or a solvent-based varnish. Our Natural Sand professional effects medium is a good alternative For best results, always varnish your collage once finished - it'll make cleaning much easier and keep your work better protected from dirt, UV and damage. 4- time to let it dry? How can I be sure it hasnt been sitting there for three years? I was wondering if you suggest an isolation coat and final varnish as you described in this section or if something else is better with acrylic ink. Cookie Notice Its best to try a few test pieces with the different finishes first to see which look you prefer. Cheers, Will, Hi will, Love your site. Modern painter Robert Motherwell had to accept the aesthetic implications of the varnish. Can I use Matte Medium as an alternative for varnish instead of using a real Varnish? I didnt varnish mine because it was still wet, but he thought I was being economical! Thanks, Judy, Hi Judy, many modern varnishes can be used with both oils and acrylics, it will say on the varnish description if its suitable for both. So appreciative of your help! Best wishes, Sarah. Once youve achieved the finish that you want with your color, you can further change its appearance by adding matte medium to some or all of it. Pouring Medium. So the painting has some area shining, some area is not. Notice the difference in intensity of the black above, depending on the varnish. Im currently in the process of making a two-panel painting for my school project thatll be shown in an exhibit a month from now, and Im planning on using both oil and acrylic paint as mediums, but my problem is what type of coat can I use as a finish that can be applied to oil and acrylic? As much as I am an artist biased against the use of varnish on oil paintings, I found your tips worthy. Even if I cant use it for varnish removal purpose but to even the sheen? Ive been an oil painter for many years but want to try experimenting with acrylic ink on heavy hot press watercolor paper as well as acrylic gessoed canvas. Matte Medium can be applied as a final, non-removable top coat for acrylic paintings.17 Oct 2005. Lately I have been exploring with watercolors on different materials. Should I simply protect my pieces under UV glass or do an isolation layer? I ALWAYS varnish ALL my paintings, and have never heard of an isolation coat before now! I did all of this though (I didnt notice a difference between Australian tap water and European tap water, which is much harder) and never had a major problem. For varnishing, you wouldnt need an isolation coat but treat the painting as if it were an oil painting. I am new to this and I have been reading over your site as to how to varnish my acrylic painting. Hi, Thank you for the article. (Temp, humidity, et al?) When she started blogging, she knew that DIYquickly would be the perfect platform to share her tutorials and tips. Thanks as always for your wonderful site and advise! Sign up now to get the latest posts, news about products & art inspiration straight to your inbox. Let the layer dry before adding additional layers. I work an unusual technique with fallen dry leaves pasted over cardboard and yet I havent found a good way for varnish it. I always think of portraits and paintings handed down to generations in the future it is definitely worth varnishing with an old school technique. Hi Will, Thanks for your reply! Is it suitable as an isolation coat? Doing a test run makes a whole lot of sense -I would certainly feel more comfortable after that! Matte Medium can be used as a varnish when mixed with acrylic paints or mediums. Hi Ken, You wouldnt be able to remove a non-removable varnish safely without danger of damaging the picture surface. A gloss varnish would make more of a difference than the matte, but a few extra brushstrokes of paint would be the best remedy. Will. Ive had the experience of working hard to get certain highlights with thin glazes, only to have them disappear or become reduced and far less effective, after isolating and varnishing. I know of some artist that build up 15-20 layers of spray varnish to produce a glass-like finish. Thank you for your great tips and your great videos. Cheers, Will, Hello Will, Love your site! This aids in a more even application of Liquitex Soluvar Varnish and protects the painting if the Liquitex Soluvar Varnish needs to be removed. If youre using acrylics but want to try out oil paints, the matte medium can also be used with them. Heres an article on applying an isolation coat that goes through the materials and brushes I use. Two, they look really good too! It is now a streaky disaster. The medium has a lot of practical uses, and its something I always keep around. While this matte medium is specifically made foruse with Open acrylicsextending their working time even longerthey can workto slow the drying time of any acrylic while producing a matte effect. I have heard and read over and over that oils over acrylics, is ok, but not the opposite, your isolation coat is prepared with acrylics, please enlighten me. Thats what I figured, but I really appreciate your expert advice! Glazing Liquid Gloss usually used for thining colours in the final stages of the painting. For more information, please see our Cheers, Will. or Spray, spray is costly. I use think paint , so shall I apply the isolation coat and then varnish with the brush ? 2- As far as I understood, I need to apply Isolation coat on the acrylics painting. Youll get a flat finish with each additional drop you add. Hi Sarah, nice to hear from you and pleased youve been finding the site of interest. I want a matte finish for reduced glare, but I want to keep the colors bright and vivid and the blacks really rich. Then with the Renaissance, a more high gloss varnish finish was favoured, giving the paintings the Old Master Glow and helping to give a permanent enrichment to the colours. Lois. Add a small amount of light colors to create a more muted effect. I do the first coat horizontally (left-to-right) and the second coat vertically (up-and-down). Hi Jo, yes you could do that, it would be similar effect to using a non-removable water-based polymer varnish. to hearing your suggestions. In addition, varnishes on works created using Gouache, water colour and drawing cannot be removed. Can I use it straight or mix 3:1 with water? Wow, this article is still going strong! 2023 Art Media, LLC. Specific situation: acrylic paint on canvas. As a comparison, gloss varnishes dry almost 100% transparent and satin somewhere between the two. Of course, the more you add, the flatter it becomes. This multiuse product not only gives matte qualities to any acrylic paint but can be used to fix hard media like pastel, graphite, and chalk, and it works well as an adhesive in collage work.. Will a matte varnish improve it (due to lightening the darks), or will a gloss be better (due to increasing the tonal range)? How dangerous is it to leave a watercolor painting unvarnished? Sign up for a membership now! 4. Hi all; I am new to the forum and have tried to find an answer to my query to no avail. as always, your studies and notes are invaluable! For semi-gloss or matte mediums a white matting agent is used to create the matte finish, so a gloss medium is preferable because it would give the cleanest film, especially if youre going for a high gloss finish. This multiuse product not only gives matte qualities to any acrylic paint but can be used to fix hard media like pastel, graphite, and chalk, and it works well as an adhesive in collage work. Some sources advise not to mix acrylic paint with more than 50 percent water. Now lets take a look at the types of acrylic mediums and additives you can use with acrylic paint: Gloss Medium , Matte Medium , Glazing Medium , Gel Medium, Modeling Paste , Texture Gels , Retarding Medium, and Flow Improver. (I thought Id packaged up a varnished painting very well, but it got a bit squished during transit), Hi Nick, I just had a flashback to seeing lots of tiny bubblewrap marks on an equally squished canvas! My question is that the Giclee print of my photograph on archival paper didnt turn out as expected. Would you suggest a spray varnish first, wait 24 hours and then a painted varnish over that? Hope youre doing well, the best way to apply a varnish with glitter is to lightly apply a spray varnish, or you can incorporate the varnish with a layer of soft gel gloss that will act as a glue to the glitter. Many of my oil paintings that I still have are over thirty years old and have never been varnished. Thanks a lot and apologies for being a bit fastidious. Any artist quality acrylic will be good, you can start by investing in an artist quality white and then building up your paints from there. The topic varnish versus medium? is closed to new replies. It is definitely worth considering. Do you have any advice as to how I should seal the gold leaf before painting over with acrylics, or just sealing the leaf in general to prevent tarnishing? Hope this helps, Hi Will! What do I clean the surface with before applying any coating including varnish? As theyll be in a dusty environment with lots of people passing, no doubt touching the pictures, and so Id like to give them some kind of protection. I was planning to do the same with quite a few other paintings, but am now wondering whether this is really okay to do. I dont really want to varnishI was just hoping to add gloss and create depth of color. Happy Christmas and wishing you continued success in 2014. :-). -Laura, Hi Laura, it would be a very slippery surface to paint on top of the varnish and the acrylic wont adhere as well, if you dont want to remove the varnish you can roughly sand over it to give you more of a tooth but the paint still wont grab on the same as an absorbent canvas surface. Water-based varnishes usually are created from an acrylic polymer, similar in consistency to an acrylic glazing liquid. A thick application may result in cloudiness when dry. Today well briefly cover the following uses: glazing, pre-painting, decoupage, sealing and image transfer. Will. This matte finish that can often appear in acrylics is the same as areas of an oil painting that have sunk in. I created a painting and added glitter over a part of the painting. Is this the wrong product to be using for this purpose? Thanks in advance Anna. Yes, because you would have painted acrylics ontop of oil, rather than the oil ontop of acrylics. Question I painted an acrylic landscape and the darks the shadows in the trees, and the dark tree trunks all darkened as they dried (of course) until now its hard to distinguish the different tones in those areas; the different darks can no longer easily be discerned from each other.