Acrylic Paintings: to Varnish or Not to Varnish

Acrylic Paintings: to Varnish or Not to Varnish

newly varnished paintings by Gwen Sylvester

To varnish or not to varnish... Over the last month I've been obsessing about this question.  Using acrylics as my primary painting medium has allowed me to paint as much as I want in a relatively fume-free environment. It's opened up a world of possibilities for me since I gave up the romance of being an oil painter and went over to acrylics. Having to deal with adverse reactions to fumes created from solvents and oil based paints made it impossible for me to produce the amount of work that I wanted and needed to do. The experts at Golden Acrylic Company and museum conservators are now telling me that I should really varnish those lovely acrylic surfaces because they've discovered that acrylics attract dust and dirt and are tricky to clean. One also needs to apply a shiny "isolation coat" of clear acrylic as a buffer to the varnish. Apparently dried acrylics are more porous than oils and could cause problems decades down the line from dirt buildup. 

With a sense of duty and heaviness I bought some spray varnish and some brush on satin varnish in a tin made by Golden. The stuff is made of horrible smelly and toxic compounds... as all varnishes are. It needs thinning with mineral spirits or turpentine... a bummer. I have big reservations over adding the word "varnishing" to my list of tasks.  I've recently been inquiring with acrylic artists and gallery owners about the acrylic/ varnish dilemma . One seasoned artist said that she felt that varnish would ruin the subtle surfaces of her abstract paintings. Another acrylic pro that I talked to said "It depends on the piece". I liked hearing those answers. If varnishing would ruin the look of a painting, then why do it?  Who cares about it looking dusty 100 years from now. On the other hand, I've very recently discovered that varnishing can enhance my work and definitely add to the durability factor. It takes some bravery to brush on coats of (shiny, matte or satin) finish on a painting and risk ruining the look of something that took a great deal of time to create. A bad varnish job can feel like a disaster. At first I spent time experimenting on some paintings that were not my favorites. I do not like spray varnish.. hands down. I'd rather brush it on, then go back in later to fill in areas I've missed by hand. The spray paint delivers a maximum load toxic fumes and seems almost haphazard.

This week I varnished several pieces outdoors, careful that there was little or now wind (or rain). I'm on a learning curve over what products to use and how to apply them in the most health conscious way. So far I'm pleased with the outcome. I wouldn't want to be exposed to those chemicals very often. At the same time I'm setting aside some paintings that I'll probably never varnish so as to not compromise the aesthetics of the surface. Pictured above are some pieces that I recently varnished and framed and I'm glad to say that I like the results so far.

Source:  http://gwensylvester.blogspot.sg/2013/07/acrylic-paintngs-to-varnish-or-not-to.html