You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful!

I agree I didnt nheed them for your video, but I do sometimes. Thanks also.

Thank you!! I'm glad it was helpful!

Thank you!! Glad it was helpful!!

Thanks Brendan! Took some time, but the outcome was great!

Thank you so much!! I appreciate that! I’m glad to hear that it was helpful, and I hope that your varnishing goes well!

Thank you so much!! Appreciate it!

Thank you!!

Thank you!! Glad to hear it was helpful!

Thank you Sandra! Glad you found it helpful!!

You're welcome! Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate the kinds words. I'm glad my video was helpful in finding a varnish that works well for your sculptures. I've certainly done a fair amount of experimenting with vanishes over the years so I understand the struggle it can be. Appreciate you watching, and I'm always happy to share!

Thank you so much!! That means a lot. I appreciate you watching my videos and I'm glad that they are helpful. I'm always working on new ideas, so I'll certainly be doing more videos in the future!

Thank you!!

Thank you Joe! Really appreciate that! Varnishing can be tricky and so I agree, patience is the key. I'll have to give that a try to add a bit of water to the varnish and see how that works for my paintings. There are times where I find it might be helpful it was a bit thinner. Thanks for the tip and I'm happy to share!

Not just super helpful, but also calming! Thank you, Joe! (Liking it so much that I’ve just subscribed.)

Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much! That means a lot. I'm glad my videos have been helpful and I hope that your acrylic paintings go well!

@@JosephKoensgen oh thank you. I did before oil paintings and acrylic is new so I only learn.But will see, as good as you are its long way to go right now. But it is fun and I have some ideas so will see :)

Thank you so much 😀

Thank you so much!! Appreciate that!

Thank you! Glad it was helpful! I hadn't thought of doing a before and after when I made this video, but that is a good idea for me to keep in mind for future videos. I hope the varnishing of your painting goes well!

Thank you so much!! Glad my videos have been helpful!

Thank you!!

You're welcome, happy to share! Yes, because I work very thin, that seems to help with not leaving any edges. But then that also forces me to work with the smaller strokes, as it will dry incredibly fast when it's that thin. And I'd also recommend a good amount of experimenting with this kind of varnish to see what works for your paintings.

You're welcome!! I'm happy to share!

You're welcome!

It is definitely one of the more stressful parts of the work, as I too have ruined a few paintings in my time with varnishing. I'm glad this was helpful. And I also recommend practicing on scrap pieces and experimenting with the varnish, something I still do with a lot of my work to make sure it will go well.

Just wondering, what did you guys do wrong to ruin paintings when varnishing them? I am gonna try and varnish a couple myself, and it would be extremely helpful to know what to avoid.

@@davidwalker3626 For sure! One of main things that's caused me problems is over brushing. It can cause it to get cloudy, or leave clumps of dry varnish all over as you drag drying varnish into wet. If I miss a spot or make a mistake, it's best to let it dry and catch it on the second coat. You can also have problems using too much varnish but there is a bit of a fine balance with that. So I'd recommend experimenting a few times on scraps before you go to your originals.

Thank you!!

Sorry to hear that happened to your painting. In a similar situation with one of mine, I was able to take a very fine grit sandpaper, 600 and then 1000, to sand off the chunks of dried varnish until it was smooth. Then I reapplied the varnish and that did the trick. It did affect the look of my painting, but not too much. So, depending on your painting surface you may be able to try that. You could also look into varnishes that have a slower drying time, like the Gamblin Gamvar, or Golden MSA varnishes. I'm planning on doing another varnishing video with one of those that I've been experimenting with.

You're welcome!! I'm glad that it was helpful! For this particular varnish you don't need an isolation coat, as it's a permanent varnish that can't be removed, so it's essentially like an isolation coat in itself. I don't use an isolation coat on my work because I had the same issue as you - I didn't like the look the isolation coat left. I paint on board so adding too many layers to the painting meant I lost the feel the original paint had, on an already very smooth surface. For removable varnishes that require a stronger solvent to take off, an isolation coat is probably necessary. Though I've been experimenting with Gamblin Gamvar without an isolation coat and I've been able to gently remove it without damaging the original underneath. I may make a video about that varnish, but I need to do more research and testing before I do that. For me varnish should enhance the painting and not take away from it, so I want keep it to as few layers as I can, while still also providing the protection it needs. I'll certainly be making more videos so stay tuned! Thank you!

@@JosephKoensgen thank you so much! This is great information. I think I’m going to get the same varnish. Will definitely stay tuned!

Thank you!!

Thank you!

Glad it was helpful! Thank you!!

Thank you!

You're welcome! Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

You're welcome!! Yes, I've found that there's way less reflection or glare off the varnish with the vertical brush strokes, as most lights are going to be on the ceiling when lighting the paintings. If you've never varnished before, I'd recommend doing lots of practice on scrap pieces first, so that you have a good feel for how the varnish works on your paintings before going to your original.

Thank you!! Glad to hear my video has been helpful! The Liquitex varnish I'm using in this video would work, but it does dry quickly and is permanent. With your painting I would recommend trying the Golden MSA varnish, or the Gamblin Gamvar varnish for acrylic paintings. Both of those have a longer working time and are removable if you want to repair your painting again in the future. I don't have very much experience with either of these varnishes, so I'd recommend reading about them and doing a number of tests before taking it to your original to make sure you have a good idea of how they'll behave once you start applying them. I hope that's helpful!

@@JosephKoensgen Thank you so much for the help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@@JosephKoensgen sorry to bother u again....turns out I've used tempera and not acrylics 🤦‍♀️😅 do you know if the use of the liquitex you show in this video would do in this case as well ? I am really sorry..

Oh no problem at all! I don't have any experience with tempera, but I don't think the Liquitex will work because it is a water based varnish and it might make the tempera run when you apply it. And I'm sorry I don't know what you'd be able to use on that, and it might take quite a bit of research and testing to find something to use on tempera paint. Hope you can find something that works!

@@JosephKoensgen oh that's okay! I am still very grateful for your advices! Best wishes 👍👍👍

Thank you!!

You're welcome!

Thank you so much! I do think an isolation coat is a good idea if you're thinking about possibly removing the varnish in the future. I haven't done it myself as I've gotten the results I want without it. And I totally understand the desire to not ruin your work, I've done it a couple times myself when I was trying to figure it out, so I'd recommend experimenting with it and seeing if that is something that would work for you!

@@JosephKoensgen Thank you! I'm doing large acrylic, circular paintings and I'm about to varnish my first one! I saw one guy use a sponge too. Have you ever tried that?

You're welcome! I haven't tried using a sponge before, but I've seen a video about that as well and it looks like it works great, especially if your work has a lot of texture. It also looks like it has the added benefit of spreading the varnish around nice and quickly before it dries.

I still use the Liquitex, but have started using the Gamvar for certain paintings where I've adjusted my technique on how I use the paint in the last couple years. I found that when I was using very very thin layers like in my paintings with mist, (lots of dry brushing), it made those paint layers very absorbent and the liquitex was drying even quicker than it already does, making it really difficult to get an even sheen out of the varnish. So I experimented with the Gamblin Gamvar Satin on those paintings and it worked really well for them. They both have pros and cons so it was a matter of experimentation to figure out which works better on particular paintings. I would like to make a video on how I use the Gamvar, but I just want to have some more experience with it, and do quite a bit more research to make sure I know (mostly) what I'm talking about when do.

I'd say the satin good for giving the best glow and bringing out colours. I prefer it because it's nice balance of the matte and gloss. The gloss and high gloss will bring out the colours and contrast more, but can be very shiny and reflective for the final finish. So depending on the look you want you may want to keep that in mind. And I'd say this brand that I'm using here is reasonably economical. The soluvar would be more expensive and clean up is a bit more involved as you need mineral spirits. Another brand to look into that I've been trying lately is the Gamblin Gamvar. Very economical as one bottle goes along way, but it's different than the liquitex as it has a longer working time, and is applied very very thin on the painting.

Thank you so much!! The brush I'm using here is the Royal & Langnickel Flat 40. Something I was able to get at Michaels.

Varnish can be difficult to work with in the beginning so I always recommend practicing on test pieces before using it on your originals. The finish, gloss, satin, or matte, depends on the look you want for your artwork. If you're unsure, you could look into a varnish that doesn't dry as quickly as the liquitex one, like an MSA varnish from golden, that has slower drying time.

You're welcome! And it's totally understandable as you don't want to ruin your work with improperly vanishing. To this day I still have a few nerves every time I varnish. In your case with the mixed media, and especially pastel pencil, a fixative spray might be the way to go. It would help seal those elements in, and then if you wanted you could varnish over top, possibly with another spray varnish to maintain that same finished look. But, I would do lots of research and experimentation with some test pieces before taking it to the original.

Is it a removable varnish? If not than you're probably stuck. If so, you'll have to (from what I know) have to go to a conservationist. Ik this is months ago but i thought I'd still answer

My first recommendation before doing your vanishing would be to practice a lot on scrap pieces before committing to your finished painting. This way you'll feel more comfortable by the time you're ready for varnishing. As for brushes or foam brushes. I like the watercolour brush as it feels like I have a bit more control. The downside would be the possibility for brush marks in your varnish, depending on how smooth your surface is. With the foam brush you may not get any brush marks, but you'd want to use a light touch and newer foam brush most of time so that you minimize the foam potentially leaving particles behind in your varnish. And though it may be a bit of an upfront cost, I would recommend experimenting with both types of brushes if you are unsure. Having confidence with your varnishing before you start on your original is definitely worth it!

Thank you!! I'm happy to be sharing what I'm doing! And if it encourages you to start painting, then that's great! Art is certainly a journey, but it is definitely worth it.

For this varnish, which is water based, you can use soap and water. For a solvent based varnish you'd use mineral spirits.

That's a good question. There may be something out there that would protect against smoke damage - I don't know if this particular varnish would protect against that. Smoke particles are so small that they can be absorbed into so many things, and that discolouration and smell can stay for such a long time. One option would be to put down an isolation coat, then apply a removable varnish on top of that. This way when that varnish inevitably discolours and absorbs those particles, it can be removed and reapplied at a later time. Not necessarily the best solution but something worth looking into further. And worth looking into seeing if there are options out there that specifically address smoke damage.