Thoughts on painting mediums

[Marvin Mattelson]

Allan, personally, I avoid using Damar for any purpose whatsoever and make this a major point when advising my students of prudent choices for the best archival painting methods. Damar yellows and gets more brittle as it ages.

Unlike linseed oil, in which the yellowing can be reversed upon exposure to natural light, Damar's effects are irreversible. When used as a final varnish it becomes increasingly more difficult to remove and requires extremely powerful solvents to accomplish this. Many a great painting has been ruined through ill fated attempts at it's removal when used as a varnish. I just don't see the up side.

The vast majority of old master paintings have no evidence of Damar, or any resin for that matter, in the paint layers. From the 18th Century on there was a lot of speculation going on regarding the make-up of artist's mediums, particularly regarding artists from the 17th century.

Fortunately, modern science has disproved the bulk of this conjecture, so we can make better decisions than far too many of our forbearers.

[Jonathan Aller]

I am wondering Marvin, what do you use for archival purposes for your paintings if its not Dammar Varnish? Or what do you seal your paintings with?

[Marvin Mattelson]

I use Gamvar by Gamblin. I add 1 1/2 tsp of their beeswax medium to the varnish. I heat the beeswax in a double boiler and add the varnish mix to it. Hope this helps.

[Jonathan Aller]

Thanks Marvin for the tip! Do you add this 6 months after the painting is done or a year or right away?

[Marvin Mattelson]

Somewhere between the two depending on the specific painting and circumstances. Ideally a year is better.

[Jonathan Aller]

Perfect! Thank you Marvin