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Varnish over my drawing , then paint over the top ?
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Posted
My title probably covers it , I paint on canvas , MDF and plywood when I get around to painting at all . I normally gesso , a quick rub down with the Telegraph , then apply my coloured ground , then do my drawing . However , it has occurred to me that if my drawing is detailed , difficult or just plain time-consuming , can I varnish over the drawing and then when dry , start painting . On top of the varnish . So that if I make a mistake , whilst removing the mistake , I havn't lost my drawing . I might have seen someone do this , possibly Tom Keating when doing The Fighting Temeraire copy , but if memory serves , he wasn't using oils .
Any thought appreciated .
Steve
Posted
Er - you tempt me out of my temporary withdrawal, anxious to save your paintings...
Don't paint over varnish, it's not made for base coats - plainly - and is not suitable: apart from anything else, it doesn't have the tooth needed to form a good surface. You could apply shellac (I'm told: I've never done it) or you could apply fixative to your drawing, lightly. Failing that, just go over the lines of your drawing with diluted paint - Turps, or even a small quantity of Linseed oil, will make the paint fluid enough - just use paints that are low in oil. I don't honestly see what advantage you would really gain from sealing the drawing totally anyway: whenever you add paint, you'll be covering those lines, and while it's true that you could regain them by removing the paint and starting again, quite honestly you could be doing that forever - paint: whoops, not right; rub out; paint again; still not right; rub out again - you'd be there all day...
An alternative for you - take a photograph of your drawing, blow it up to suitable size, have it next to your canvas when you're painting: you'll be able to see where your brushwork doesn't match what you intended just as well, and will be able to manipulate the paint rather than scrub it off to base level.
(If anyone does use shellac, by the way, I'd be most interested to see any comment on it - just in passing.)
Posted
I think Robert has answered that fairly comprehensible, well he would wouldn’t he!
So I can’t add anything constructive, apart from the need to draw out the initial image in such detail.
Why on earth would you do that, I know I wouldn’t, not even for the Fighting Temeraire! And I’m pretty sure Turner didn’t either, not even Keating!
You run the risk of a paint by numbers job… no fluidity, simply trying to keep to the lines - where’s the spontaneity and creativity… the passion!
Okay, I’ve made my point, but as always, if it works for you, then carry on!
But it really isn’t the way to go, trust me on this one…
Posted
As very much the newbie here. I might tentatively add to Robert's suggestion of a same-size photograph. How about using a grid on top of that photograph and a same-size one on your canvas. That way you could hang on to where you were in the picture with some degree of accuracy. For the rest trust yourself.
