[On Painting] Varnishing-- The Six Month Rule
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Duane
Oct 30, 2006, 10:53:10 PM10/30/06
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When is it safe to varnish an oil painting? You might be surprised.
A varnish has two main requirements: it must protect the painting and it must be removable. It must be removable so that the painting can be cleaned or repaired if necessary. Putting a varnish on too early can hinder the proper drying of a painting and/or lift up some of the paint underneath when brushing it on. It can also, in effect, fuse to the painting and thus become difficult to remove without removing some of the painting along with it.
As to the six-month rule, here's a quote from Ralph Mayer (who wrote the book that should be, if it isn't already, in every painter's library:"The Artist's Handbook"), in his less well-known book "The Painter's Craft," he says:
"This question of premature varnishing in not nearly so serious or important as artists have been given to believe; a picture does not run very much risk of being damaged if it is varnished soon after it has become thoroughly dry to the touch or surface-dry. It was a more serious consideration in the past, when copal or very thick glassy coatings of mastic varnish were applied; these were quite capable of injuring a tender or soft layer by the great strain that was put upon the surface by the contraction or compression of their drying."
He goes on:
"My own recomendation has always been to varnish as soon a the paint appears completely dry-- in the case of thin paintings a few weeks, heavier paintings a month or two. In an emergency, when a painting must leave the artist's hands soon after being finished, I would say that it would be less risky to varnish as soon as the painting will take it than allow it to leave unvarnished."
"Dirt will settle onto an unvarnished painting and, with the passage of time, will become so imbedded thsat cleaning becomes difficult and sometimes impossible."
For my one-sitting pieces I usually wait about a month before varnishing (unless I use unusually slow-drying paint or medium) for my more complex paintings I'll typically wait a couple months.. I've tested dozens of paintings my removing and then re-applying varnish with no problems.
Also, if you're looking for a varnish, Soluvar works very well.
--
Posted by Duane to On Painting at 10/30/2006 06:50:00 PM
A varnish has two main requirements: it must protect the painting and it must be removable. It must be removable so that the painting can be cleaned or repaired if necessary. Putting a varnish on too early can hinder the proper drying of a painting and/or lift up some of the paint underneath when brushing it on. It can also, in effect, fuse to the painting and thus become difficult to remove without removing some of the painting along with it.
As to the six-month rule, here's a quote from Ralph Mayer (who wrote the book that should be, if it isn't already, in every painter's library:"The Artist's Handbook"), in his less well-known book "The Painter's Craft," he says:
"This question of premature varnishing in not nearly so serious or important as artists have been given to believe; a picture does not run very much risk of being damaged if it is varnished soon after it has become thoroughly dry to the touch or surface-dry. It was a more serious consideration in the past, when copal or very thick glassy coatings of mastic varnish were applied; these were quite capable of injuring a tender or soft layer by the great strain that was put upon the surface by the contraction or compression of their drying."
He goes on:
"My own recomendation has always been to varnish as soon a the paint appears completely dry-- in the case of thin paintings a few weeks, heavier paintings a month or two. In an emergency, when a painting must leave the artist's hands soon after being finished, I would say that it would be less risky to varnish as soon as the painting will take it than allow it to leave unvarnished."
"Dirt will settle onto an unvarnished painting and, with the passage of time, will become so imbedded thsat cleaning becomes difficult and sometimes impossible."
For my one-sitting pieces I usually wait about a month before varnishing (unless I use unusually slow-drying paint or medium) for my more complex paintings I'll typically wait a couple months.. I've tested dozens of paintings my removing and then re-applying varnish with no problems.
Also, if you're looking for a varnish, Soluvar works very well.
--
Posted by Duane to On Painting at 10/30/2006 06:50:00 PM
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