An Artistic Endeavor

Here’s a list of my current favorites…

Mediums:

For Fine Detail:
Italian Wax Medium – Old Masters (brand)

For Looser or Heavier Impasto work:
Flemish Maroger – Old Masters (brand)

Driers:

Liquid Lead – Doak (brand): Used sparingly

Texture Additives:

Tix-O-Gel – Doak (brand): For extremely thick brush work. Strokes keep their shape nicely

White Sandbox Sand – bought at Home Depot. Ground with a mortar and pestle. The sandy powder yields a very interesting texture.

Varnishes:

Liquin Original (Winsor & Newton) – provides a permanent (non-removable), protective coating.  Although it isn’t a traditional finishing varnish, it’s common practice for “Trompe L’Oeil” artists to use Liquin as their final coating.  Important: only to be applied after the painting has completely dried/oxidized.  1-2 carefully applied, very thin coats leave a uniform matte finish that doesn’t detract from realism effects by adding gloss or visible built-up glossy patches. This was recommend by artist Anthony Waichulis a few years ago and I’ve been very happy with the results ever since.

Damar Varnish – A single uniform coat works well for the final varnish on all “not-so-fine” detailed pieces.

Damar Retouch Varnish (spray can and liquid) – Used to temporarily correct the luminosity, translucency and color of the paint for matching after the paint has dried/oxidized. Use sparingly. Too much build-up will leave glossy patches, which will be amplified by the final varnish coat.

B67 Resin (Doak) – Robert Doak recommended this when I was searching for a high gloss “even” leveling varnish.  It was everything Robert said it would be, and more.  It is also archival and completely removable – but very hard to work with.  Since it has the consistancy of honey, the jar has to be warmed in a pot of water on a stovetop burner until it’s thin enough to be applied.  As it cools it becomes stringy, so the application must be completed very quickly.