Krylon
Fixative Sprays and Varnish
Golden
Acrylic Gesso: A top of the line, ready to use acrylic
gesso in white or black. Made in USA. The Art Box carries
white in 8, 16 and 32 oz. and black in 8 oz.
Liquitex
Gesso: Liquitex makes two qualities of gesso.
The cheaper product is Liquitex Basics Gesso, a good
quality, non-yellowing, non-toxic gesso that provides a good
surface for acrylic or oil paint. Available in white in 16
oz. bottles and 64 oz. tubs. The more expensive Liquitex
Gesso is a better quality primer for all mediums and colors,
and dries in 30 minutes to a slight tooth that facilitates
easy brushing of color. Liquitex Gesso is available
in white and black. Made in USA. The Art Box carries
32 oz. white and 8 oz. black.
Palmer
Gesso: A very inexpensive acrylic gesso that provides
a good tooth for painting. Made in USA. The Art Box
carries 8, 16 and 32 oz. bottles.
Gamblin
PVA Size: To prepare a fabric support for oil painting,
Gamblin recommends PVA Size to seal the fabric. Rabbit skin
glue is hygroscopic which means it is constantly swelling
or shrinking in response to changes in temperature and humidity.
The movement of the glue size causes the paint film to crack
over time. PVA Size is not hygroscopic. PVA Size does not
tighten the fabric like rabbit skin glue, so stretch the fabric
tightly. The Size protects the fabric from the Ground.
Gamblin
Ground: Gamblin Ground is a non-absorbent oil ground.
Paintings made on non-absorbent grounds are brighter because
the oil is left in the paint film rather than being absorbed
into the ground. Two thin layers of Gamblin Ground equal four
layers of acrylic gesso. Gamblin Ground is made with alkyd
resin rather than linseed oil, because of its increased flexibility
and quicker dry time.
Gamblin
Gesso: Gamblin Gesso, and absorbent ground, is a
traditional dry gesso which is mixed with water and applied
only to panels. Paintings on gesso (either traditional or
acrylic) are more matte because of the high absorbency.
Sennelier
Rabbit Skin Glue: A classic size used to seal surfaces
such as paper, canvas and wood panels. Made in France. The
Art Box carries 100 g bags of powdered glue.
Golden
Polymer Mediums: Fine quality acrylic mediums available
in gloss and matte finish. Useful for creating glazes, extending
colors and increasing translucency. The Matte Medium may be
used as a ground instead of gesso. Golden Acrylic Retarder
is used to increase the open (drying) time of acrylic paints.
Useful for "wet in wet" techniques and reducing skinning on
the palette. Made in USA. The Art Box carries 8 oz.
bottles.
Gamblin
Safe Solvents and Oil Mediums: Gamblin's solvents
and mediums are the foundation of The Safe Studio. They are
much milder than traditional products used by artists and
can be safely used in classrooms as well as studios.
Permissible exposure
level or PEL is a measurement of how much solvent is
considered safe to work around. The higher the PEL,
the safer the solvent. For turpentine, the PEL is 100
parts per million (ppm). Gamblin's Gamsol has
a PEL of 300 ppm. (Turpentine is so toxic that
Gamblin recommends that painters limit use of turpentine to
dissolving and thinning damar.) 
Gamblin's Galkyd
Painting Mediums thin oil colors for painting and glazing
and speed drying time of oil colors. Galkyds replace traditional
painting mediums that contain turpentine and damar varnish.
Galkyds are ready to use with traditional techniques
such as fat over lean. Gamblin's mediums and solvents can
be used with any brand of oil paint.
Galkyd Gel
allows the artist to create heavy impasto layers. Gamblin
Cold Wax Medium makes colors thicker and more matte, and
can be used as a traditional wax varnish. Galkyd Slow Drying
Medium keeps the surface of the painting open for about
three days. Galkyd Lite is made from an alkyd resin
that has a low viscosity and behaves like a traditional painting
medium based on linseed oil. Galkyd medium is thicker
and is very similar to traditional painting medium formulated
with linseed stand oil. Galkyd levels brush strokes
and leaves an enamel-like glossy finish. Gamblin mediums can
be used in combination to achieve variations from thick to
thin, and matte to gloss.
Artisan
Water Mixable Oil Painting Mediums: Especially formulated
to work with water mixable oil paints like Winsor and Newton's
Artisan line, these mediums clean up with soap and water.
Fast Drying Medium improves the flow and speeds drying
time, also smooths brushwork and increases gloss and transparency.
Excellent for glazing and fine detail. Resists yellowing.
Linseed Oil reduces consistency and improves the flow
of colors while increasing gloss and transparency. Stand
Oil improves the flow and leveling of colors. It is slow
drying, and excellent for glazing and fine detail since it
smooths brushwork. Painting Medium thins the consistency
of colors and aids fine detail work. Improves flow and wetting
of the color. Dries slowly to a flexible film. Impasto
Medium is a texturing medium for thick impasto. Mix thoroughly
into the paint and build the impasto in several layers allowing
each layer to dry before adding another. Speeds the drying
of the colors. Made in England. The Art Box carries
75 ml. bottles.
Sennelier
Oil Painting Mediums: Sennelier's Stand Oil
is made by heating pure linseed oil. This medium is a bright
and clear honey-like substance. Paints mixed with stand oil
leave a beautiful enameled finish, and can be employed in
almost every glazing technique. Transparency is heightened,
as well as the paint film's resistance to cracking. Stand
oil is found in many medium recipes. Not recommended as the
primary vehicle for making oil paints from scratch. Thin 10-20%
with spirits, then add 25% maximum to total paint mixture.
Sennelier Venetian Turpentine (turpentine being a misnomer)
is a balsam that comes from the European larch tree. When
added to oil paints, mediums and varnishes, it lends an exquisite
jewel-like quality with a tough enamel surface. Sold in its
pure undiluted state, it has the appearance and consistency
of honey. Dilute with turpentine 20% and use sparingly and
with caution (5% maximum added to total paint mixture). Venetian
turpentine sets and dries rapidly which means it should not
be used in great quantity or in alla prima techniques that
require oil paints to be workable for an extended period.
Made in France. The Art Box carries Stand Oil in 60
and 250 ml. bottles, and Venetian Turpentine in 32 ml. bottles.
Winsor
and Newton's Oil Painting Mediums: Artists' Painting
Medium thins oil colors and dries to a flexible film with
minimal tendency to yellow, wrinkle or crack. Liquin
is a durable non-yellowing medium for thinning the consistency
of oil and alkyd paints. It speeds drying, and when thinned
with solvent or turpentine, is excellent for glazing and rendering
fine detail. Refined Linseed Oil is a pale oil which
reduces consistency, increases gloss, slows drying time and
increases transparency of oil colors. Stand Linseed Oil
is a pale, thick oil to mix with turpentine or mineral spirits
to reduce consistency and improve flow in oil colors. Made
in England. The Art Box carries 75 ml. bottles.
Winsor
and Newton Watercolor Mediums: Gum Arabic
is a natural gum solution that increases the gloss and transparency
of watercolors. Gum Arabic is one of the binders used to make
fine watercolors. Ox Gall Liquid is a wetting agent
used to improve the acceptance of watercolors on paper. Use
sparingly. Colorless Art Masking Fluid is used for
masking areas of work needing protection when color is applied
in broad washes. It can be cleaned with water immediately
after use, and must be removed within 24 hours. Made in England.
The Art Box carries 75 ml. bottles.
Traditional
Solvents: Odorless Turpenoid is an inexpensive,
odorless substitute for turpentine. Made in USA. The Art
Box carries 8, 16, 32 and 64 oz. cans. English Distilled
Turpentine is a traditional solvent for thinning alkyd
and oil colors and cleaning artists' brushes, etc. Made in
England. The Art Box carries 75 ml. bottles.
Golden
Polymer Varnishes: Golden's Polymer Varnish
with Ultra Violet Light Stabilizers is a waterborne acrylic
varnish that dries to a protective, flexible, dust resistant
surface over acrylic paint. Removable with ammonia. This varnish
comes in gloss, matte, and satin finish. Made in USA. The
Art Box carries 8 oz. bottles.
Gamblin
Gamvar Varnish: Just like Damar, Gamblin's Gamvar
Varnish unifies the surface of an oil painting and saturates
the colors, but Gamvar never yellows or crosslinks.
Gamvar is easy to remove with mild solvents.
Gamblin
Cold Wax Varnish: Gamblin's Cold Wax Medium
can be used as a traditional wax varnish. A light coat of
wax can be applied over a dried painting and the buffed with
a soft, lint free cloth. A wax varnish gives a painting a
soft sheen without the thick resin coating. Conservators recommend
waiting six months to apply all other types of varnishes,
but Gamblin's Cold Wax Medium can be applied as a varnish
at any time.
Sennelier
Turner Retouching Varnish: Light, fast drying mineral
spirit based varnish. Recommended for restoring the original
luminosity and brillance of colors that have become dull on
works in progress. Can also be used as a temporary final picture
varnish without waiting the recommended period of time (6-12
months) before applying a true final picture varnish. Made
in France. The Art Box carries 60 ml. bottles.
Conserv-Art
Varnish: Winsor and Newton's high performance
removable varnish. Developed in 30 years of research by leading
conservators. Available in gloss and matte. Made in England.
The Art Box carries 75 ml. bottles.
Damar
Varnish: The Art Box carries a variety of
Damar Varnishes including Winsor and Newton's Damar Varnish,
Martin Weber's Liquid Damar, and Sennelier's
Damar Gum Crystals. Damar
is the classic final varnish for oil paintings. Though it
goes on clear and transparent, Damar has a tendency to yellow
over time. The yellowing process is slow and when it happens,
it is time to strip off the old varnish and put on a new coat.
Sennelier
Fixatives: Sennelier makes some of the finest
fixatives on the market today. Latour Fixative is epecially
formulated for soft pastels. It is a resin and alcohol based
solution that protects soft pastel drawings and seals them
to the support. Latour features the most transparent and non-yellowing
matte film available, leaving the subtle colors of pastel
hues unaltered. Repeated light applications are recommeded
and will protect the particles of pigment from smearing and
pollution. Available in aerosol or pump bottle. Lascaux
Fixative is the Swiss army knife of fine art fixatives,
Lascaux can fix or seal almost anything. It can prepare
just about any surface for painting or drawing. Multi-media
artists find it an indispensible tool for painting on unusual
surfaces. This acrylic sealer is as clear as water, non-yellowing,
resistant to aging and non-matte. It is suitable for fixing
drawings in pastel, pencil, charcoal and wax crayons, as well
as works in ink, gouache and watercolor. Makes photos, prints,
lithographs, proofs, lettering and gold leaf all scratch resistant.
It also is a good initial sizing coat on rigid supports such
as wood panels, and is suitable for sealing the Savoir-Faire
Artist Panels before priming. Made in France. The Art Box carries 12 oz. cans.
Krylon
Fixative Sprays and Varnish: Krylon makes a good
line of fixative sprays including Workable Fixative,
a matte finish coating especially formulated for use with
pastel, charcoal and pencil; Dulling Spray, which dulls
articles to be photographed including chrome and glass, and
wipes off easily when the camera work is done; Matte Finish,
is a permanent, non-gloss finish which eliminates sheen and
reflections from surfaces, and is not removable; Crystal
Clear, available in regular and UV resistant formulations,
is a permanent acrylic coating which protects drawings, artwork,
watercolors, charcoals and inks. Kamar Varnish is a
non-yellowing protective coating for oil and acrylic paintings.
Removable with mineral spirits or turpentine. Made in USA.
The Art Box carries 11 oz. spray cans.
