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Originally Posted by Kimberly Dow
Virgil - you would wait 6 months even with Retouch? Or do you prefer not to use it?
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Kim,
Ideally, I wouldn't use retouch varnish on my own work, but would wait at least six months and then apply the final varnish. If I were to use retouch varnish, it would not be before the painting had had adequate time to dry, i.e., at least two weeks.
Note that if you've used a slow-drying white, it could take a good long while for the paint to dry. I use lead-based whites, primarily those ground in linseed oil. This kind of white speeds the drying of all the paints it comes in contact with or is mixed with.
I know there is often a big rush to get a portrait finished and delivered by a deadline, and there might be a great temptation to varnish it before the paint is even dry, much less cured. I would advise against it. It would be better to deliver the portrait without varnish, and arrange to varnish it some months later. A layer of varnish over wet oil paint will interfere with the drying of the paint, by restricting the amount of oxygen that can reach it.
Virgil Elliott