In March, we asked you to send your most challenging art materials questions to Steve Gallisdorfer from Winsor & Newton and Liquitex products. Thanks for sending us your stumpers! Below are some of the questions to Steve and his answers:

Q: I am a pastel artist—oil pastel. I paint with oil pastels on canvas, but know that the oil pastel never really seals itself, so years after I've painted a painting, the colour can still transfer onto hands (when moving the painting) or anything leaning up against a painting (God forbid). So I am wondering is there any varnish or substance that can be used to seal the oil pastel?
Gigi Hoeller, Gold River, BC

A: You are absolutely correct about oil pastels never drying. Unlike the oils used to make oil paints (called drying oils) which actually polymerize into a film which locks down, oil pastels are made with a binder containing no drying oils. The waxes and non-drying oils in them never turn solid, and as such, none of our varnishes, and none that I know of, would be acceptable. Not only would they not adhere to the surface, but the solvent would quite possibly dissolve the fragile painting. (All varnishes must be applied only after thorough drying.)

There is only one real method I can think of for protecting a fine oil pastel painting, and that is framing under glass. There are some wonderful glasses available these days that are as clear as regular glass, but have virtually no reflection. *Be wary of inexpensive non-glare glass, as its dulled, frosted surface clouds the details of art work to a great degree. This effect is worse when the glass is spaced up and off the artwork slightly, which you will have to do to keep the glass from touching the painting.

There are a couple of products you may wish to try as a substitute for the oil pastels, too. One is Winsor & Newton Oilbars and the other is Stevenson Oil Slicks. At first look, these kind of even look like large oil pastels, but actually they are specially made bars or sticks of artist oils you pick up and paint with, similar to how you paint with oil pastels. They are blendable, layerable and have many other features of fine oil pastels, except they are made of a special formulation that includes linseed oil, so they dry with time and become permanent, just as an oil painting would. It is a long, slow drying time, too, just like oils. And you varnish them just as you would an oil painting, waiting at least six months to ensure complete drying before varnish is applied. The resulting artwork is just as durable as an oil painting!

They won't dry out in your box, either. They just "skin over". Remove the "skin" from the tip, and off you go again. And if you don't blend with your fingers, they are even cleaner to use than oil pastels.

Q: Why was Winsor & Newton's Liquin replaced with Original Liquin? Original Liquin is not the same product. Could they please bring it back and if not, why?
John Lawrence, Chilliwack, BC

A: 'Liquin Original' did not replace the former 'Liquin'. The word 'Original' was added when we introduced the three newest versions of Liquin last year: Liquin Impasto, Liquin Light Gel and Liquin Fine Detail. In the long history of making Liquin (or Liquin Original, as it is now called), we have made no formulation changes, except for slight tweaking as the supply of resins have changed. And those changes were so there would be no performance changes to the artist. The drying acceleration, sheen, film stability, transparency, brushing qualities, etc have not changed. There have also been changes to the labeling and other compliance needs as required by regulations, but the Liquin Original of today is the same as the Liquin of yesteryear.

What visually may appear to be changes in the formula are more likely visual changes in the natural ingredients (i.e. resins) from different batches and seasons of supply. Some batches have appeared more gelatinous or fluid at times, and some the amber tone is a different hue or appears more opalescent. Our technicians check every batch to match performance qualities to ensure the same, consistent quality and performance of every batch, as consistent performance is what the artist needs, and expects.

Q: Here's a couple of questions for Steve. They probably won't stump him but I think they're interesting ones as I'm always curious about art-related jobs. How did you get your job with Winsor & Newton and Liquitex? What kind of background does a person need to work with these backgrounds? How do you use your products to create your own artwork, that is if you create art? What kind of art do you create?
Chandra Wong, Fort St. John, BC

A: I worked for a major distributor selling Winsor & Newton, Liquitex and more than 100 other name brands (and 26,000+ different items) to art material retailers across the United States. I did this for more than 23 years, then quit several years ago to just work for ColArt, the company that owns Liquitex and Winsor & Newton. The dealers I serviced and advised have ranged in size from small, one-man stores to giant 'chain stores' with more than 100 locations. I now just cover the western part of the US and Canada.

Every manufacturer is different, but to work for Winsor & Newton and Liquitex, you have to have a 4-year degree. If you are connected to the sales side as I am, you must also have a good deal of experience with being a sales rep, the rigors of heavy travel and strong art materials training. It is uncommon to see someone start here with less than 10 years of broad experience. If you go to work in our educational or technical division, you must have a Masters in Fine Art.

I don't really consider myself an artist in the traditional sense, though I do work with oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels and many other media. I do lots of technical, geeky experiments with binders, mediums, varnishes, etc, but traditional stuff... I have almost no free time! But when I do, my oil and watercolor paintings are very traditional, and my acrylics are very 'experimental' and non-traditional.