Hi First name / friend! I hope you're having a lovely week! Thank you for being patient with me, as it's been a while since I sent an email to my creative friends. If you follow along or are on my other email list you may already know, but a lot has happened in the last 8 months! I had a baby in December (holy cow, I can't believe how fast time goes), I moved a couple of hours North to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and I QUIT my 8-year career in pharmaceutical sales to pursue my art business and stay home with my baby. Since having my daughter, I have been learning how to approach my art business and creative needs while raising her. It's been the most challenging yet amazing 8 months of my life. Thank you for sticking with me.

 

 

With a new home comes a new studio! My previous studio was in our condo dining room sectioned off with a curtain so I could get a little privacy from the rest of the house. I am so excited about my new creative space, which is now a spare bedroom. I'd love to show you around!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Varnishing/ sealing your work is so important to protect the longevity of the piece. Especially if it is going in a sunlit room.

 

The type of varnish you use to seal your work is dependent on your medium. I am going to share what I use for my mixed media collage paintings. Most of my work uses coffee and soft pastel which limits me to a spray on varnish.

 

I was using Golden or Liquitex UV spray varnish and they are SO SMELLY and not good for you. You have to be really careful and take safety measures when using a spray varnish. Some of them even have warning labels for reproductive harm and this was not sitting well with me. I was so tired of leaving my paintings outside for hours to air out, for them to still be smelly when I brought them in.

 

This left me wondering if there was an all-natural spray varnish or spray fixative I could use before using a safer brush on varnish. The brush on varnishes don't smell like the sprays do.

 

I finally found the perfect non-toxic ODOR FREE spray fixative that I could use before applying a brush on varnish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: SpectraFix spray fixative is AMAZING because it is odor free, non-toxic, and natural. It's perfect if your artwork requires a spray varnish and you don't want to use the toxic smelly stuff. This is NOT a varnish and should be used in combo with a UV protectant brush on varnish to protect your beautiful painting for years to come!

 

 

Do you have any tips or tricks for varnishing your artwork? I would love to hear! Reply to this email and let me know. I hope this was helpful. Thank you for being here with me!

 

Talk soon,

 

 

 

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