Dripping varnish

[Marvin Mattelson]

Jen,

I mix up the Gamvar and add 2 tablespoons of Bee's Wax Medium by Gamblin. It knocks down about 30% of the gloss, without having to sacrifice any of the depth. My clients can't believe that their portraits look even better.

First I follow the procedure for preparing the Gamvar. This takes about a day. Then I begin to mix the bee's wax medium with a little bit of the fresh Gamvar in a separate jar. I keep adding in more Gamvar s-l-o-w-l-y and shake, shake, shake and stir, stir, stir. Eventually I'll add this "slurry" (Robert Gamblin's word) to the remaining varnish. I shake it very well until there are no more little remnants of bee's wax remaining. You can rest when your arm gets tired. It's well worth the time and effort.

Hope this helps!