That Old Sinkin' Feeling

[Clive Fullagar]

Steven Sweeney pointed out to me that in some of the paintings that I have posted that certain pigments seem to be flat or matt (they don't shine), and tend to "sink in." This seems to occur with certain colors, particularly the raw and burnt ones (raw and burnt sienna and raw and burnt umber)as well as payne's gray - colors that are often used in the mixing of flesh tones. I suppose one solution would be to varnish, but I have heard arguments against varnishing oil paintings. Does anyone have any solutions to this? Also I would love to hear your opinions about retouch varnishing.