Sometimes use a brush that’s absolutely dry and free of paint, to fade and soften shapes. If your painting is small enough, you can rest it on a plywood panel and dry it in a pre-heated kitchen oven at 200˚F (or 95˚C) for two hours.
13 A apply retouch varnish
Retouch varnish is simply damar varnish diluted with turpentine. It glosses up the painting, deepening the blacks and rendering every brushstroke visible. I apply it with a 2in hake brush, taking care to pick out the...
11 Wind down with secondary characters
While savouring figures that turned out well, now is a good time to attend to completeness. I paint that extra buffalo and make sure there’s meat and structure inside the shadows. I add some extra variegation to...
12 Savour, contemplate, double-check An important stage, I take maybe 20 minutes to just let my eyes roam over the piece, making sure everything is as I want it. If not, now is the time to go back in and make corrections.