Finishing a painting with varnish in Easel by Zaweba

Varnishing is the last thing a painter does, and in the real world it is often weeks or months after the final brushstroke. It evens out the sheen, deepens the darks and protects the paint. Easel by Zaweba has varnish in three finishes, gloss, satin and matt, so a picture can be finished the way a real one would be.

This is a small tool, but it changes how a finished painting reads, and it has a few quirks worth knowing.

Gloss, satin and matt

Gloss varnish gives a shiny finish. In real painting it tends to make colours look richer and darks look deeper, which is why many oil painters favour it. Its downside is glare, especially under strong light.

Matt varnish gives a flat, non reflective surface. It suits work that should feel soft and quiet, and it avoids reflections entirely. Some painters feel it can make darks look a little paler.

Satin sits between the two. It has a gentle sheen without strong glare, a sensible middle ground if you are not sure.

The choice is about mood. A dramatic still life with deep shadows suits gloss. A soft, misty scene may suit matt. A portrait often looks right in satin.

When to varnish

Varnish is a finishing coat. Treat it as the final step, after the painting is done and dry. Easel lets you speed drying with Dry now and the drying speed slider, so you don't have to wait the weeks a real oil painting needs. Still, make sure the painting really is finished first. A varnish is meant to sit over the whole surface, not to be worked into.

A good checklist before varnishing. Step back and look at the whole picture. Use the mirror, values and squint views to catch problems. Fix anything that bothers you. Then dry, then varnish.

How varnish fits with lighting and export

Easel turns paint height into a surface lit by a movable light, so thick paint shows ridges. The varnish finish is part of how the surface looks, so try moving the light after varnishing to see how the finished painting catches it.

For export, you can save with or without the impasto lighting, at 1x or 2x size, as PNG, JPEG or TIFF. If you want a clean, even image of the colours, export with flat light. If you want the painting to look like an object, with ridges and sheen, keep the lighting.

Varnish and age

Easel can also age a picture, and one of the things that happens is that oil and varnish yellow. That is true of real old masters, whose blues and whites have often warmed over centuries under old varnish.

So if you want a painting to look antique, varnish it and then age it. If you want it to look fresh, leave the ageing alone. It is a quick way to see how a finish might change over time, and a nice touch for anyone painting in an old master style.

Things to watch

Don't varnish a painting that is still wet, or before you are sure it is finished. Don't pick gloss for everything out of habit, think about the mood. And remember that exported images taken with lighting will show sheen and highlights, so try both ways before deciding which file to share. A finish is a small decision, but in Easel by Zaweba it is the last touch that makes a painting look complete.