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Originally Posted by Anthony Emmolo
You guys are frightening me. I have been using retouch varnish almost each morning at the beginning of my painting day. It brings the freshness of the painting back to light. It is the only way that I can add new paint to the canvas. Without it, the fresh paint looks different than the paint that I applied the day before. Especially in the shadow areas which dry chalky. Then, I apply a thin layer of painting medium by Falens, which is the medium I use throughout the painting to loosen up my paints after squeezing them from the tubes. After that, I apply a final coat of Damar varnish and have never experienced cloudiness. My work is sold in galleries for the past four years, and I haven't received any phone calls about yellowing.
1- Am I using retouch varnish wrong? If so, how can I work with the chalkiness of a painting when I want to add new paint to the painting and cannot accurately see the values and temperature of chalky paint compared to fresh paint?
2- How long after use does the yellowing of Damar varnish begin?
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Anthony,
You can accomplish the same thing by oiling out instead of using retouch varnish, but you might need to give the painting a bit more time to dry between sittings. A very thin scrub-in of linseed oil over the area to be repainted will do the trick. Wipe off as much of it as will come off after you've scrubbed it on, before you paint into it. What remains is all that is needed. The chalky look you mention might be due to the colors you've chosen. Umbers are particularly bad in that way, burnt umber especially. I very seldom use burnt umber any more, for that reason mainly.
You can do many things wrong and not see the consequences for fifty or more years. That doesn't mean they aren't going to happen. Look to the conservation field to get an idea what holds up and what causes problems.
Virgil Elliott
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