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On May 22 I had the pleasure of doing a live webinar for the Oil Painters of America.   I’ve painted many times in front of people and have done numerous “Quick Draws” at art shows and feel very comfortable “on stage” but for some reason this event caused me a bit of a panic.  So much pressure doing a demonstration live.  If I messed up everybody would see my moment of insecurity.  Well, I can happily say that all went well and I think everybody enjoy watching me paint my Princess Crown Margareta Roses in a brass vase.

I’ve received numerous emails asking questions so I thought it would be a good idea to answer them all right here on Inspired to Paint so all of you can benefit from the answers.

Thank you for providing this opportunity yesterday.  Elizabeth is such a kind and talented artist, and it was a nice way to spend an hour during these unusual times.
I am curious as to which medium she referred to several times.  I use the Gamsol frequently, but I was not familiar with the medium she uses.
Thank you,
Jan

Jan, I use Neo Megilp from Gamblin Colors.  I had been using Liquin for years but have become much more health conscience and Gamblin is a great company that takes our health seriously.  Also, here in Utah paints dry very fast even without medium and using Liquin made it dry too fast.  Neo Megilp gives me the open time I like to be able to manipulate edges etc.   Shanna actually has a product review of all their mediums so check it out by clicking here

1. When you can’t finish a painting ala prima or just paint the beginning stages of a painting, but can’t get back to finish for 2-3 days, what would be the procedure ? Would you spread a thin coat of medium over the whole painting?
2. What is the preferred finish – spray or brush on -varnish for best results ? How long before you can ship out?
Thank you. It was excellent.
Joanne

Joanne, I actually did that with the painting I did for the webinar.  I came back to it about 3 days later and took it to a finished state.   I didn’t do anything to the painting except give it a light coat of Neo Megilp before I started painting.  The paint had already dried so there were dull spots that I needed to make shiny again.  Although I am an alla prima painting there are some paintings that take more time.  I’ve come back to a painting many many times to keep working it until I get what I want.  As long as I haven’t given it a coat of varnish I can keep working on it.     As far as varnish, I like Grumbacher Gloss picture Varnish in a spray.  It’s not too shiny and it’s a light varnish and easily removable if I have to remove it in the future.  Gamblin’s Gamvar is also good.  I can ship the painting out as soon as it’s dry.  Sometimes I’ve been known to ship a painting that is still a bit wet because it’s for a show and I’ve waited until the last minute to paint.

You mentioned using a product – I assume to thin the paint but I did not catch the name of the item.  Currently I am using Liquin to thin paint, etc but the order is so strong, I do not like using it for that reason.  
Thank you for the info.<
I loved the painting session – it was GREAT!! and very informative.

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