You've finished your latest piece. Now you want to know if you really need to varnish colored pencil art.

Some artists swear by it.

Other artists would never do it.

Many are undecided and most of us are somewhere in between.

Still the question remains.

Do You Really Need to Varnish Colored Pencil Art?

Aside from personal preference, there are good reasons to varnish colored pencil artwork and there are reasons not to. Personal reasons for varnishing colored pencil drawings or not varnishing them are as varied as artists are. The purpose of this post is to look at some professional reasons for and against varnishing colored pencil art.

Reasons to Varnish Colored Pencil Art

Controlling Wax Bloom

Some colored pencils are made with a wax binder that allows the pigment to be formed into a core during manufacture and that allows you to put color on paper while drawing.

You leave wax on the paper, too. If you use heavy pressure or lots of layers, you may end up with a lot of wax on the paper.

The wax slowly rises to the surface of the color layers and gives the drawing a foggy or cloudy look. This is wax bloom.

Wax bloom is easy to remove. Simply wipe the surface of the drawing very lightly with a piece of paper towel, a tissue (without lotion), or a soft, clean cloth. The wax bloom will return however and you probably won't ever be able to totally eliminate it.

Giving your finished drawing a light coat of fixative or varnish does more than keep the color in place. It keeps the wax binder in place, too. That means little or no wax bloom.

Of course, if you use oil-based colored pencils, you have no wax bloom worries!

Protecting the Surface

Even a light coat of fixative or varnish will provide protection for your colored pencil drawing. Environmental dirt, dust, and other similar substances will come to rest on the varnish instead of on the drawing itself. A light dusting with a duster or dry clothe is all that's necessary to remove the dust.

It's recommended that any artwork on paper be framed under glass for the best protection and that includes colored pencil drawings. But even then, a coat of varnish provides added protection.

Restoring Tooth

Up to this point, I've talked about using fixative or varnish after you've finished the drawing—that is, after all—the focus of this article.

But you can use fixative or varnish on a drawing that isn't quite finished. Doing so will give the surface a little more tooth for additional work if that's what you need.

How much tooth is restored is debatable and depends in large part on the type of fixative or varnish you use and on how heavily you use it. While it merits mention here, it's really a topic for another discussion.

Reasons Not to Varnish Colored Pencil Art

Discoloration

Some artists have had drawings discolored and some have had them ruined by an application of fixative or varnish. If you happen to be using a cheap varnish or fixative, there is the risk of discoloration. That's why I generally advise artists to do a test on a piece of scrap paper or an old drawing first.

Damage

Anytime you use an aerosol, there is the risk of some of the substance coming out as droplets. This is a special concern if you don't use varnish very often and the can has been sitting on the shelf for years. Again, the best way to avoid this is to test the varnish first. If it produces droplets after a couple of sprays, don't use it on anything else.

Unnecessary Effort

I admit that I don't finish every colored pencil drawing with a coat of fixative or varnish. Sometimes it just isn't necessary.

Drawings I don't varnish are either:

  • Drawings I didn't burnish or use heavy pressure on
  • Predominantly light value or color (wax bloom shows up better on dark colors)
  • Drawn with oil-based pencils

You may also simply not wish to add varnish to a drawing because you like the look of unvarnished drawings. That is a perfectly acceptable way to finish any drawing.

Next week, tips on types of varnishes to use and how to get the best results.

Do you varnish finished drawings? Why or why not?