Professional artists know that varnishing your finished work is an important step, and one that should not be neglected. Varnishes act as a protective, sacrificial layer over your finished artwork, protecting it from dirt and grease and other airborne pollutants, which would otherwise come into contact with the paint.
This varnish also contain a UV protective agent which improves lightfastness and protects from other UV damage such as fading or colour shifting in tone. This varnish is therefore particularly beneficial when coming to varnish non-lightfast media, such as digital print or giclée prints for example.
There are three Artists' Acrylic Varnishes available depending on your desired finish, Matt, Gloss and Satin. These varnishes dry to an even finish and can be intermixed to vary the result to achieve any sheen.
I tried to apply with a roller, but it created too many bubbles that stayed in the finish Applied the rest with a brush and there are faint brush strokes in the finish. Even though it recommends thin coats I found I had to apply quite a bit to prevent the brush strokes being too visible. Dries quickly and sticky, so again if you go over a bit thats already got some varnish on then you risk putting brush strokes into it Overall appearance from a distance is good, its only when you get up close that you can see the slight imperfections. My thoughts are a slower drying version that could be applied with a spray
Tom (Sale, United Kingdom) on 16 Mar 2015
Ken Bromley's replies:
It is probably best to use a soft varnish brush. There are a number of video demonstrations on utube on varnishing techniques which might be usefull to watch.
I was looking for something which would protect my collage work and leave a non shiny finish. This mixed with the mat works very well as the satin is still a little too shiny. 50/50 mat/satin leaves a smooth soft sheen, as opposed to a shine or blank mat Laura (Australia) on 2 Feb 2022
Easy to use semi matt varnish. Robert Mountjoy (Yelverton, United Kingdom) on 11 Dec 2018
