HOW TO USE BLOCKX AMBER:
Varnish
Recently completed paintings should be rubbed with a brush dipped in soapy water. Rinse with fresh water and allow to dry. The oil has been removed when the water spreads uniformly without streaking or forming drops. To prepare old paintings for amber varnish, first remove the old varnish, then clean with a liquid composed of one part of alcohol (90°), one part turpentine, and two parts of water. Continue until the surface has become soft enough to permit the amber varnish to adhere and penetrate. After the painting has been prepared, pick up a drop or two of dissolved amber at the end of a short narrow stiff-haired brush and apply, making sure to run the brush to achieve a thin coat. Varnish each section until the whole painting has been covered, then smooth with a wide, long haired brush in both directions. This can be repeated several times to even out or to thin the coat. The wide brush will have to be cleaned with turpentine and then dried several times. Six to eight grams of dissolved varnish will cover one square yard.
Medium
Depending on the technique used, one will use either pure dissolved amber or amber solution (In poppy seed oil solutions for lighter areas, linseed oil solutions for darker ones). Solutions enable the artist to readily adapt the consistency of his colors and to regulate the amber as the work progresses. Should the painter be using weak solutions, he might consider finishing his work with a coat of varnish.
Touch-Up
In order to restore a painting to its original value and to inhibit the new color from soaking, apply a slight scumble of amber varnish, diluted with a drop of turpentine with your finger or a hard brush.
Drying
Because it contains no drying agents, amber varnish will not harden faster than the oils. To keep colors wet, the work can be put in a cool place out of the light. Conversely, drying can be speeded up by placing the work in a lighted, dry, airy room.
Solvents
Dissolved amber that has thickened to varnish, can be diluted with a few drops of rectified turpentine. Too much turpentine used in the layers will have a harmful effect on both the fastness and the future cleaning of the painting and should for this reason, be avoided.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amber:
1. What differences are there between YOUR varnish and other ones?
Ours is a "fat" varnish which:
- Can be applied immediately without waiting for the usual minimum 6 month drying period
- Become an integral part of the painting since they have the same nature, and is therefore not removable.
2. Is it possible to repaint a picture which was painted or varnished with amber several years before?
Yes. this is an additional advantage of our varnish. You just have to apply, using your finger for example, apply a light scumble of painting medium and touch up varnish. Thanks to this scumble the part to be repainted will recover its color and the application of the new layer of color will be easier.
3. But it is very expensive!
Yes, but you only use a very small quantity so that finally you don't pay much more for an incomparable fastness and a matchless effect.
4. Can varnish be used as a medium?
Yes.
5. Can medium be used as a varnish?
No.
6. How can it be removed after 10 years?
It can never be removed as it is an integral part of the painting.
7. But varnish gets old and dirty just like a wall or a window!
You must not fear any deterioration due to aging. And it is easy to clean: you can use soap, rainwater and a soft brush. Of course the parts that have not been protected by paint or varnish must not be wet.
8. What does it look like? Is it mat or glossy?
When it has just been applied it seems glossy but with the time it becomes glazed (mat).
9. Why would I put amber in my painting?
- To give it more depth, thanks to its refraction index
- To protect and keep the purity and the fineness of shades and pigments
- To make further maintenance easier
- Particularly to allow superposing of glaze fresh on fresh without mixing them - excepted if you want it- and - as Rubens did - finishing a picture in a few days or ever in a few hours.
10. Which painters have used amber in their painting?
- First the " Flemish Masters " whose technical superiority can be appreciated in most art galleries
- A lot of modern artists of any specialty. Among whom S. DALI is probably the most famous and well-known. He wrote about amber in his book " 50 Magic Secrets ".
11. You put poppyseed oil into most of your colors, but this oil is less solid than linseed oil!
Yes but a painting is not meant to stay outside. Moreover it is possible to add amber to give a matchless solidity and at the same time avoid the well-known yellowing of linseed oil in the darkness.
12. Is the yellowing of linseed oil so considerable?
It is sufficient to kill some shades, particularly whites and blues.
13. How must your amber varnish be used?
You can give it the fluidity you want by adding turpentine spirit. And then, it can be applied like another varnish. The more fluid it is, the quick the drying will be and the thinner the varnish layer will be. Please note however that a picture painted with varnish or medium in all its parts doesn't need to be varnished. It is already protected in the mass.
14. How long does the drying last?
Generally 1 or 2 days to be off-dust, but it can take one week or even more for thick layers of varnish that have not been , or have been insufficiently diluted with turpentine spirit.
Two thin layers are always superior to a too thick layer, which would create problems such as cracks, flowings, non hardening, … Besides an abnormally long drying would encourage dust encrusting. If you have never seen a painting made or varnished with amber, you cannot realize to which extent it can emphasize the most subtle tints and preserve them through years. In this matter we now have a personal experience of more than 130 years.
