RECIPE FOR VENICE TURPETINE BALSAM AS A MEDIUM

Ingredients:

Damar varnish---4 parts
Sun thickened linseed oil---2 parts
Venice turpentine---1 part

Combine the ingredients at room temperature and shake them into a homogeneous solution. This will produce a fairly thick medium. Combine the medium on the palette with tube oil paints. Use it for painting over layers of tube paints. It should NOT be used for undercoats. Ground with dry pigments, it makes an excellent glazing medium and can be thinned with turpentine. It has a slow drying time of approximately three days.



RECIPE FOR CANADIAN BALSAM AS A MEDIUM OR VARNISH

Ingredients:

Canada balsam---2 parts
Mastic varnish---1 part
Oil-copal varnish---1 part

Stir all the ingredients together over a double boiler over heat until the heavy balsam has combined smoothly with the other ingredients. This procedure will produce a heavy medium that can be diluted with turpentine. Mixed with either tube paint or dry pigments, it is a durable medium for the last layers of a painting used as a glaze. Drying time of this formula is approximately 1½ hour.

The brilliance of Canada balsam, united with a rapid drying rate, also produce a most desirable medium for a final varnish. Since only a small amount of oil is present, this +medium can be thinned with turpentine and used as a final picture varnish. This procedure very closely resembles the characteristics of the medium used by Jan Van Eyck.
Please refer to
Jan Van Eyck Painting Emulsion Recipe


Bibliography:
Formulas for Painters, Robert Massey, 1967
The Painter's Handbook, Mark David Gottsegen, 1993
The Secret Formulas and Techniques of the Masters, Jacques Maroger, 1948