Kind of freaking out...

JessicaArt

Can anyone assure me that varnishing will eliminate this uneven color in my blacks? I have just assumed so but now as the time draws nearer I am getting nervous, because if it DOESNT I am screwed! big time. since three of my paintings are black like this. ill attach pictures in the comments since they are on my phone. 

JessicaArt

Boudicca

Hi Jess, 3days prior to varnishing I oil out with a 1:1 mix of Gamsol and Galkyd. I then varnish with Gamvar. This has given me a pretty even surface. There is a video on doing this on the Gamblin website. I emailed them on how long between oiling out and varnishing as this wasn’t covered in the video, and they told me 3 days.

JessicaArt

Oh awesome. Thanks! I took a little linseed oil and rubbed it on a dry -less black looking spot and it turned a nice even black. What is the purpose of oiling out before the varnish? 

Kaustav

Ther's also something called touch up varnish. It'll help you to see colors and you can paint on top of that.

Kaustav

Retouch varnish not touchup varnish

CJD

You can also test it out first..try the varnish on an area and see if it works. If you're using gamvar or equivalent then it's really easy to remove after with a clean cloth and a bit of gamsol

I've always had gamvar varnish create a 100% even looking black surface for all my paintings without oiling out

That was with Geneva black too

JessicaArt

Awesome. Thanks Everyone @CJD I was hoping you would comment because you would know from all your black flower paintings. Thanks!

Kodiakwood

Boudicca said:

Hi Jess, 3days prior to varnishing I oil out with a 1:1 mix of Gamsol and Galkyd. I then varnish with Gamvar. This has given me a pretty even surface. There is a video on doing this on the Gamblin website. I emailed them on how long between oiling out and varnishing as this wasn’t covered in the video, and they told me 3 days.

How long do you wait before oiling out?

Boudicca

Kodiakwood said:

Boudicca said:

Hi Jess, 3days prior to varnishing I oil out with a 1:1 mix of Gamsol and Galkyd. I then varnish with Gamvar. This has given me a pretty even surface. There is a video on doing this on the Gamblin website. I emailed them on how long between oiling out and varnishing as this wasn’t covered in the video, and they told me 3 days.

How long do you wait before oiling out?

I oil out  when the painting is touch dry. Depending on the time of year and how thick the paint is ( I usually paint quite thinly) 3-6 weeks. I use Gamblin products which are formulated for this purpose.

Julianna

did it work?

JessicaArt

@Julianna still waiting for them to dry. Theyve been spending their days in my hot car. 1 is ready, one almost is...so fingers crossed!