Stone steps at the botanic garden

Art Completed Projects
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I’m taking a landscape painting class and the instructor encouraged us to use our own reference photos so my husband and I went to the local botanic gardens. For this painting I was really focused on trying to make it look realistic and I’m really happy with how it turned out. I still need to varnish it but that will wait until I’m sure that I don’t want to tweak anymore details. The painting is done in acrylics on a canvas panel.

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And some progress pics

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This was by far the most complex painting I’ve ever done and my first time painting stone. Thanks for looking!

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WOWWWWW! You have some serious talent. I love it!

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Your talent shines through in every brushstroke and detail. This is stunning and so realistic it feels like you can step into the painting and stroll up those steps. Beautiful, beautiful work.

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Thanks for sharing with us on your painting journey! It has been fun to see your work progress. The final work is lovely!

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So beautiful and sunny it looks like you could step right in!

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This is beautiful! You can really feel the texture and details on the stones.

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This turned out so well. I feel like i could climb right up those steps now!

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WOW!! Absolutely beautiful work!

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This is very pretty!

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This is beautiful and I love seeing the progress pictures!

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Beautiful :star_struck:

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Wonderful! Makes me want to step into the painting and see where those steps lead.

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This is so realistic, that I agree with the others that said it feels like you could step into it. But it’s also just softly dreamy enough to be truly painterly.

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Absolutely fantastic work!

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It’s fantastic!

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:green_heart: :art: :deciduous_tree: Your lovely Stone Steps at the Botanic Garden painting is a Featured Project this week! Congratulations! :deciduous_tree: :art: :green_heart:

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Your painting is beautiful !!

I watch Baumgartner Restoration on YouTube and he varnishes paintings before retouching them. Could you add more paint after varnishing if you wanted to?

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Thanks everyone! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Varnish isn’t meant to be painted over, it’s a final coat. Some varnishes can be removed if you want to restore or otherwise change the underlying painting. I use a non-removable permanent varnish so once I varnish it, it’s done.

I’ve decided that I’m happy with how the painting is so once I wait the required 72 hours after painting to make sure it’s fully dry I’ll add the varnish.

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Does the varnish change the texture? I did a piece in 2019 and used some texture stuff added to the paint to make it bumpy…I worry that the colors will fade if I don’t do something. Will the varnish yellow over time?

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Varnish won’t change the texture but you can use it to unify or change the sheen - glossy, matte, satin. I believe there are some varnishes that will yellow over time (hundreds of years) but I don’t believe the acrylic varnish I use will. I think it’s more common with traditional varnishes that can be removed with mineral spirits. I am far from an expert about varnishes however :slight_smile:

I have only bothered with varnish on pieces which are done on canvas panels since I find the paint looks a bit dull until varnish is added. I find the paint looks far more vibrant on wood panels which I believe is due to the smoothness of the surface. I should try varnishing a painting on a wood panel and see if I notice a difference.

I don’t believe varnish will affect your colors fading or not as that’s more a function of the pigments themselves (lightfastness rating) although there might be UV varnish which could slow it down.

1 Like