How to Oil Paint - Varnishing and Signing
Hi, I’m Martha Spak with MLS Gallery, and I am showing you how to paint a still life oil painting. Right now I’m going to show you the finish product and talk with you about varnishes and selections that you may, you may consider. I like to use a spray varnish, after the painting is completely dry and you’re ready to frame the piece, I use this in a well ventilated area, again after it’s completely dry. And when applying, I, we have to remember to spray quick, quickly in a very even pattern, so that you don’t get puddles. And then once again you have to let it dry a little bit which doesn’t take very long. And then you can go ahead and frame. Another selection of varnishes is a gel varnish that can be applied with a sponge brush, that takes a bit longer to dry, and it is a little bit more complicated to work with, and that it can't puddle and have reflections in it, something to keep in mind. So the last thing that you need to do in finishing your painting is to add your signature. I have a special brush that I use for my signatures, and it is a very small headed brush, and it has a very fine point. And I will dip my brush in a little bit of the liquin that I used, which is more of the gel, and I’ll find a color that is complementary to our background color, but dark enough to show up. And then I’ve got my brush and I wouldn’t recommend putting your signature on in a vertical manner, like this. I think it’s very hard and kind of unnatural, so I’m gonna move my canvass down on my table top and prop my hand on top of the other hand and now I’m ready to place my signature on. So now I’m, I believe the personal choice as to how you wanna sign your name and make it appear on your painting, so my choice is my first initial and my last name. I’m going to go ahead and put the first strokes down of my M, then again it’s very personal how you want it to show up. Then I just check the bases so that it looks completely in place. And that’s how we add our signature, and here’s our finish still life painting. And if you’re inclined to go buy some paints and try it yourself, it’s a lot of fun. I enjoyed showing you how to I do a still life set up and painting and I hope you’ll give it a try. So thanks a lot.