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A Pear-A-Tif: Step 4

A Pear-A-Tif

Some years ago several of my paintings were included in an exhibition held by a local gallery. I stopped in one evening to get a look at the proceedings, keeping a low profile. Then I saw a man take a stickered label and place it on one of my paintings. Not on the wall beside it, not on the frame, but directly on the painting itself. This, let me tell you, is a no-no. As upset as I was, the man had actually paid me a left-handed compliment: he thought the surface was glass.

I like to tell this not only because it illustrates just how deceptive a trompe l’oeil can be, but also because in this next step, we’re going to do something to our painting that is far more dangerous.

The painting completed and dry, apply a layer of varnish with a sponge brush, as shown in the picture above. Then you are going to hold your painting under a thin stream of water (that’s right), and sand it (oh yes).

A Pear-A-Tif, by Jerald Rough

This is done to give the painting its smooth sheen. Sanding removes any brush strokes, while the water acts as a buffer between the sandpaper and the painting. I use a 600 grit, or super fine sandpaper grade. This process - applying the varnish and wet sanding your painting - is done 7-9 times to achieve the desired smoothness and sheen.

Don’t be afraid! Some of your paint will be removed, but that’s what we have our reserves for.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 4:30 pm and is filed under A Pear-A-Tif. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “A Pear-A-Tif: Step 4”

  1. david lo Says:
    May 16th, 2007 at 7:58 am

    Like to know what kind of varnish did the artist used for his oil painting???

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About Bryan Larsen ~

Bryan Larsen

"I was born on February 12, 1975, and have been drawing as long as I can remember. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to be an artist, although at the time I didn't have a clear idea of how exactly I would use my talents to make a living.

"As I continued studying art, I began to suspect that fine visual art was dead. No one seemed interested in teaching students how to draw well, or paint well. More often than not, my own skills exceeded those of my instructors.

"The only field left that seemed to require good drawing, painting, and compositional skills was illustration, and therefore I began studying illustration at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I became even more convinced that I had made the right decision in staying away from fine art as I endured course after course of required "drawing" and "painting" classes in which instructors required me to draw with "less focus", or use ridiculous materials such as shellac, glue, sand, salt, etc.

"My second year at Utah State, I met Damon Denys. In discussing Art with him I realized that there were other people who believed that technique and subject matter were indispensable components of any work of art. I then decided that I would work to develop my own painting skills with the purpose of creating artwork that I considered worthy of being called Fine Art.

"Since that time, I have studied on my own: Drawing from live models to learn the human form, studying proper painting techniques from any source I could find ample reason to trust, and developing a philosophy of Art based on reason, and life on earth.

"My goal is to portray the heroic and romantic in human nature and human achievement in a realistic style and a modern setting. I place particular emphasis on composition, technique, realistic detail, proper craftsmanship and consistency of style."