Oil Pastel Experiment with Kamar Varnish

Hello everyone. So I got some Kamar Varnish by Krylon at the art store and experimented with two of my oil pastel paintings to see how it works for protection. Varnish is designed for oil, acrylic or watercolor works and not meant for oil pastels, pastels etc. But I wanted to see if it would work for oil pastels.
The answer to that is, that it does work, but there are a couple big drawbacks for me. This video talks about that; the pros and cons, and something else I discovered to get rid of that "sticky" feel when using a varnish like this or a final fixative.

[@daniel96011]

loved the reviews for fixative! Very helpful! Thank youuu

[@raizes]

You’re welcome and thank you for watching!

[@abdulkelani1150]

I've used Rust-Oleum matt finish on my oil pastel piece and it worked fine. I applied few coats in my backyard and didn't leave any odor when brought in. I just wanted to try it before I decide to buy any fixative.

[@rosaliewerback6360]

This video is very helpful to me. I always go back to using oil pastels and your videos and this one in particular helps me get over my concerns about protecting my work. Thanks.

[@raizes]

Thank you! I'm really happy it's helping you. That's the whole reason why I make these videos. Thanks for letting me know!

[@evelynsnell2293]

Wow. Love your beautiful art.❤thanks for sharing

[@anni4169]

Great video, as always! It was very helpful and interesting. Also, the artworks you used for the video are both beautiful! Especially your nature scenes always look so great!

[@raizes]

Thanks so much!

[@terrilegg1]

Wow, gorgeous portrait! Informative video, thanks

[@raizes]

Thank you!

[@myutub090571]

After a couple coats of spray you could probably use a brush to finalize the varnish.

[@raizes]

I’ve done that a couple times. One of those was successful and the other time I ruined a painting. I could try again…

[@TheSingingPeople]

i like kamar for watercolors. i've also tried it for oil pastels on pastel paper. i find that if i'm using paper with larger teeth, the varnish makes the paper absorb the pastels so i lose some of the smooth look and also the paper maintains a bit of a wet look, which i don't like - gives it an unfinished look, overall. i haven't tried a fixative yet though (i'm a novice) so i'm going to test that out next.

[@raizes]

Yeah, kamar varnish works best on hard surfaces like a wood panel. Or maybe even. A smooth thick paper like Bristol smooth

[@mrsmarshmallow15]

new subscriber! new to oil pastels as well, I'm looking forward to more educational videos about oil pastels for beginners, hope you could help me with that! keep up the great workkk

[@raizes]

Hello there and welcome! I have a lot of videos up. Several full length tutorials if you have the patience for that. 🤣😁 and I plan on making many more videos. Thanks for joining!

[@mrsmarshmallow15]

@@raizes definitely! love your content can't wait for the upcoming videos!

[@JC-il4or]

Thank you. I am wondering if the Kamar would affect a high key painting similarly-as in one with no dark passages. It apparently does a chemical bond with the dark pigments. Are these sticky darks mostly Gallery? Or did you use a different brand? I know you use 4 different brands of oil pastels from past vid. Just ruminating here. 😋 I really like the way the waterfall turned out-stunning light play!

[@raizes]

Thank you!. Yeah it is sticky with certain colors. For example Sennelier #007 which is what I use for darks is sticky to begin with, (not greasy), but sticky. The sticky though helps with getting more layers on top of it. Some sennelier sticks and some neopastels are stickier than others. The Slate grey by neopastel is greasy, so I don't like to use it for darks because its too hard to layer on top of it. So the fixative or varnish on top of the sticky colors seems to retain the sticky feel. It takes a lot of applications of the fixative to finally cover it. Having discovered the Matte finish spray takes that sticky away was a nice surprise.

[@JC-il4or]

@@raizes thank you for taking time for a real answer.

[@Leo1903able]

Shielded finished oil pastels tend to harden over time and so are less susceptible to dust. Adding a varnish which is sticky would seem to attract dust...but maybe it will also dry over time?

[@raizes]

Yeah. I don't like the sticky. I'm noticing that the places it is sticky are on color or sticks that are already sticky to begin with. I could wait a full year or more, and maybe it will go away. But I don't want to do that, so it was a nice discovery to learn that the krylon matte finish will take the stickiness immediately away. And I only need a light application of it.

[@krystalstardust1457]

Is there anyway to fix the pastel painting so that it can be framed without glass?

[@raizes]

Yes. I’ll be releasing some videos about how to varnish or use a final fixative to seal a oil pastel painting so it can be framed without using glass. I’m currently working on one now.

[@jackiegarroutte8970]

Rich could you show how you do animals in oil pastel ( like a cat), showing how you do fur and facial features?

[@raizes]

Yes , I’m gonna do a tiger. One of my favorite cats, and I’ll make a video on it. Coming soon. I gotta find the time.

[@jackiegarroutte8970]

@@raizes awesome!! Can't wait!!

[@friendfortheartists]

Might need to apply a drier to your darker applications. The pastel didn't dry.

[@animalpower7315]

Oil pastels don't dry.

[@oldben1800]

too much gloss