varnishing watercolor paper?

[justa]

I have a technical question I hope someone can help with. I paint in acrylics, until recently on masonite. I normally put a coat of varnish on the painting to protect it once I was done. I am now trying out arches hot pressed watercolor paper, and am wondering - can I put the spray varnish on it? Has anyone had any success with it? The reason I ask is that I prefer not to have to use frames with glass to protect the picture from dust etc. On masonite, once varnished I can just wipe it with a damp cloth, which is terribly convenient. Can't do that on non-varnished paper...

Any thoughts are much appreciated!

D'Arcy

[Elwell]

Are you gessoing the paper first, and, if not, are you leaving any of the paper uncovered, or is the whole surface of the finished piece paint? Spray varnish, which is solvent-based, may soak into and discolor raw paper, so if there is any uncovered, give it a few coats of acrylic medium before you varnish.

[justa]

Hi Elwell

Just want to say thanks ! I used 3 coats of acrylic glazing liquid I had at hand, then spray varnish once it dried. Worked like a charm !

In case anyone else was wondering, I use Arches hot pressed watercolor paper, I don't leave any white of the paper unpainted. A lot of transparent washes for the background and more opaque paint for the foreground.

I imagine if I'd used just pure medium (the glaze has a bit of retarder in it), it would have dried faster, but a few hours was fine for me.

D'Arcy