Confession time: I have never varnished any of my oil paintings before. I simply could not hang on to a painting for six plus months and then varnish it, but this all changed now.
I have been doing a lot of research on varnishing oil paintings. The main thing about oils, it takes a very long time to dry. Even though it feels dry to the touch it simply isn’t dry. It takes an average oil painting six months or longer to dry completely. This would also depends on the thickness of the paint.
I came across several video demonstrations and artists using Gamvar varnish. It is varnish made by Gamblin. You can check out their website HERE for all the necessary information on their varnishes. Gamvar comes in three types – gloss, matt and satin. The great thing about it is you can varnish your oil paintings as soon as it is dry to the touch and the highest oil areas no longer push in when pressing your finger against it. It is odorless and a little goes a very long way. It can easily be removed by using Gamsol, also made by Gamblin.
I opted to purchase the gloss varnish. As I use linseed oil and only recently started using Liquin it does leave a little shine. So when using the gloss varnish it gives the entire painting a nice gloss finish, but it is not super glossy and that I love.
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