Varnishing Watercolors

Lori Woodward wrote

on 28 Jan 2010 1:14 PM

OK, I decided to start a new thread so we can find posts about varnishing watercolors easily.

If any of you have tried it out there, please let the rest of us know how it's working for  you. Just as a refresher, I glue my 300lb cold pressed paper to a panel - usually MDF board or gatorboard using acrylic matte medium which works well as an archival glue. Oh and I usually gesso the MDF board first just so the board doesn't leach anything into the paper.

I place a piece of vellum over the glued painting and stack books on it overnight. By the next day, it's flat and glued.

When my watercolor is finished, I spray it with Krylon Crystal Clear,(spray outdoors) but Golden has come out with a new UV protective spray varnish which I've tried successfully. Don't use regular workable fixative. It will gray down your colors and leave a film on the paint.

When the crystal clear is dry, I brush on 2 or 3 coats using Golden UV protective gloss varnish - which  you can dilute slightly with a little water. I let each coat dry completely.  Or... I brush on Liquitex acrylic gloss varnish. Either way, I am careful not to continually brush this coat of final varnish because it can become milky. I find that the Golden brand doesn't get milky as some of the others.

I let the varnished painting dry for a week before I ship it anywhere. I frame it just as I would an oil painting - no matting or glazing. I sold a painting 10 years ago that I varnished, and it still looks like the day I painted it. The colors on the varnished paintings look ultra rich - I especially like the way gloss varnish brings out the darks.

Sharon, how has varnishing worked for you so far?

patrickart wrote

on 28 Jan 2010 4:41 PM

lori

this is great information. i am happy that you started this thread.

do you recommend gluing the finished work before the spray fix and varnish?

i have many trash paintings i want to practice with. however i dont want to waste time and money with glue at this stage. i can see the paper rolling and curling if its not stretched or stapled down.

sorry to bomb you with so many questions.

patrick

Margo5 wrote

on 28 Jan 2010 4:58 PM

Lori,

The other question I would have here is, the panels are not real inexpensive when you are using them only as an experiment. What is the smallest size you think could be used in order to really get a good idea of how to make the paper lay flat, etc.?

Lori Woodward wrote

on 28 Jan 2010 5:31 PM

Patrick, what weight paper are you using? I often glue the paper to board after I varnish it. Someone asked me why I did it that way, and I said, Gee, I dunno - maybe coz I'm too lazy?

Margo, I usually buy 1/4 inch MDF board (looks like Masonite) from Home Depot and have it cut into various sizes. Gatorboard is quite expensive - as you say. I'm not sure what you're asking about the paper laying flat. I flatten out the paper before I varnish it, but after it's got a painting on it.

Flattening a buckled watercolor painting: lightly spray the back of the paper (blank side) with water. Blot up the moisture with a paper towel. Then place the painting between two sheets of vellum, or drawing paper and weight it down with lots of books overnight. Voila - flat painting in the morning.

It would be much better if I could actually show you how I do this. But in the meantime, please experiment with a painting you don't care about. The varnish costs some money, but it lasts forever.

Below is a small varnished watercolor: 7x10

Margo5 wrote

on 28 Jan 2010 6:25 PM

Lori, I guess I am wondering if 140 lb paper will buckle when wet down with glue and applied to the MDF board. I doubt that the 300 lb paper would be much of a problem.

Margo5 wrote

on 28 Jan 2010 6:33 PM

By the way Lori, do you have anything like this in your blog? The reason I ask is that I referred a watercolor artist from Germany (I think that is where she is) to your blog. She was asking about this very thing. She can't get clayboard panels over there (at least not the same brand that we get), but she could probably do something like this.

patrickart wrote

on 29 Jan 2010 4:04 AM

lori

i am using 280lb paper at this time. i bought a ton of it 2 years ago. it was a great price. i like the mdf idea. who do you order the varnish from? i can buy the spray fix here at a local shop but they dont carry that brand of varnish.

thank you so much for all your help

patrick

Lori Woodward wrote

on 29 Jan 2010 6:48 AM

I generally order from Cheap Joe's. In fact, I just ordered 25 sheets of 300lb cold pressed paper from them, along with a variety of the new Windsor Newton Acrylics - which are not supposed to darken as they dry. I got tired of using the backs of my failed paintings

The MDF board can be scored on both sides with a matte cutter, and then you can snap it off. But be really careful -- I faint at the sight of blood. I used to have home depot cut me a bunch of boards in 9x12 and 8x10, but having them cut it is expensive. I buy the smaller pieces at HD and just cut as I need it.

What's fun about MDF board is that you can sand the smooth side, gesso it and paint right on that! There is also an absorbent gesso you can buy that works well for watercolor - kinda acts like clayboard.

I've got to stay off here today, so can't answer much more... I must work on my next article!!! or else I'll be freaking out near the deadline.

Hope that helps!

HarlandArt wrote

on 29 Jan 2010 9:02 AM

Why Varnish?

Lori Woodward wrote

on 29 Jan 2010 9:31 AM

I varnish because I like the way it makes my paintings look, and the people who buy them seem to like them better that way. Plus I don't like the way matting and glass looks and causes reflections.

It's a personal preference thing.

patrickart wrote

on 29 Jan 2010 3:35 PM

hey harland

it looks like varnish is the way to go these days. i have yet to try it but i will as soon as i can afford too. it has to be cheaper than matted and glass.

lori suggested to me that i tried it on a painting i dont care about. she has paintings 10 years old and still going strong with varnish.

i never heard of this technique before i started surfing this forum. i have been living under a rock. 

with water color canvas and aquaboard and yupo etc. i bet there are a lot of artist using this method. i say its worth a try.

TJH5 wrote

on 8 Feb 2010 8:00 PM

Another alternative is encaustic sizing.  For the past year I have been using refined beeswax to seal and protect my watercolors.  I work with a variety of papers but the two types I work with the most are Arches 140 lb blocks and 140 lb rolls from Arches and Fabriano for my larger pieces. 

When I finish with a painting from a block I cut it off and mount it directly to 3/16" foam core.  Once firmly attached to the foam core, I brush hot wax onto the painting .  Then I use a heat gun to "burn in" the wax.

What happens is the paper absorbs the molten wax like water until it is saturated.  The pigments on the surface are locked in place and the paper becomes very water resistant.  When describing this to people I call it a varnish but in reality it is more like a post production sizing.

For larger sheets of paper from the roll I have built several stretching frames from painted plywood and 1x2" lumber.  I soak the paper, wrap it around the frames in the same way you would canvas, then staple it in place with a pneumatic staple gun.  When these larger paintings are completed I leave them on the frames for the waxing process.  Same as before, wax on, burn in, and let cool. 

Some words of caution; 

1. Wax can catch fire.  If you do this, get the MSDS forms and pay attention to the flash points.
2. If your wax is smoking it is too hot. 
3. Never leave it unattended unless you want to burn down your studio.
4. Do this in a well ventilated area.
5. Heat guns get ..........wait for it...........HOT.  I still have a scar on my arm to prove it.
6. If you aren't careful you can scorch your painting with the heat gun.  A brown spot in the middle of a vast blue sky is hard to pass off as a flock of black birds.....but it can be done ;)
7. FYI, Some of the heavier, more absorbent papers can take in a lot of wax.....and some of pigment with it. 
8. Keep a pallet knife handy to scrape up excess wax when finished.

I know some of this sounds pretty scary but if you give it a chance and play with it I think you'll find the benefits far outweigh the risks. 

Margo5 wrote

on 8 Feb 2010 8:33 PM

TJH, thank you for this information. It sure is something to consider, especially for paintings that I give as gifts.

deeleb wrote

on 25 Jan 2011 6:34 PM

I'm new to a lot of this ... what I've been playing with is buying pre-stretched canvases that already have a gesso treatment, and then painting on 5 layers of Golden absorbent ground. I'm painting the watercolor and I had planned on using the Golden UV protective varnish but I read elsewhere that there's a spray treatment I should do first, so I'm a bit confused. Any suggestions?

oliviam84 wrote

on 26 Jan 2011 2:12 PM

I'm new too! I just switched from charcol and gesso to watercolor. My house was getting rather drab looking :)

Do the pre-stretched canvas for watercolors work well? Do I chose to either glass frame with a spacing OR varnish spray? I'm traveling with a large watercolor (of a horse:)  )  soon across the country and am worried about humidity, etc while traveling. Advice please?

Thank you everyone!