Varnishing: A tale of caution

As an enthusiastic user of Liquitex's Satin Varnish already, there really shouldn't have been any reason for me to try a different one instead. Particularly knowing that consistency of varnish across paintings is important, and there's always a chance it can not turn out how you want...

However, I'm not the best person at consistency, as I always think the grass may very well be greener on the other side of the fence, and surely (stop calling me Shirley) there's no real harm in mixing things up a bit?

So I decided to buy Liquitex's Matte Varnish to give it a go. After all, a matte surface is easier to photograph or scan, and creates a more graphic designy type look.

The first time I used it, it went on just as easily as the Satin varnish had, so all good there. However, as it was drying, I wondered why Liquitex didn't really make it that much different from the Satin version. Surely this was meant to be Matte, and therefore not shiny at all? Maybe people don't like it super flat? And maybe they sell an even matter-matte varnish? I presumed Liquitex must know what they're doing and didn't think about it again until a few months' later when I had another batch of paintings to varnish.

I decided to use the Matte varnish again, and gently shook it (as per the instructions), making sure to not introduce too many bubbles into the liquid. I put on the first coat on my painting and let it dry. To my surprise, the surface looked really shiny. And I mean, really shiny. I thought to myself, that's so odd that the Matte varnish seems even more shiny than the Satin version... And even more shiny than it did last time I used it.

In a moment of realisation, I picked up the Matte varnish bottle and scutinised it.

I could see at the base of the bottle a thick band of white, which I surmised must be all the matting agent that hadn't mixed properly through the liquid. My shiny painting must have been all varnish and no matting. Arrgh.

Deciding this wasn't the disaster it could potentially be, I gave the bottle a through shaking, bubbles-be-damned, and could see the residue start to integrate within the liquid again. I hoped that I hadn't permanently ruined my paintings by coating them only in the binding agent, and that a second coat of varnish (this time thoroughly mixed) would rectify the issue.

So, after painstakingly doing another coat over the top of the shiny coat, I waited to see the results.

Luckily for me, it dried perfectly fine, and this time it was indeed Matte! Phewwww.

This is a tale of caution when using a matte varnish, and a reminder that you should thoroughly shake up your varnish if it's been sat on the side for a while, because a gentle shake just won't do the job.

Will I continue to use the Matte varnish instead of the Satin version? I don't think I will, actually, as the Matte version loses some of the depth of colour (darks are slightly less dark). However, it does definitely photograph well, as you can see from the picture below!