Yeah, I think just overcompensating with the powders is the way to go.
On a side note, I don't think the varnish blowing away the powder is the main factor; having been mucking about with the stuff over the weekend I have failed to shift it from where I didn't want it even with vigorous blowing. I reckon it's mostly down to losing the difference in finish across a surface once the whole lot gets varnished. Plus even the mattest of varnishes is not powder-matt.
All that being said, you can apparently get away with minimal change to the look with a very light matt varnish, sprayed from a decent distance (or so I've read, I don't have much first hand experience with the stuff either) - you'd want to give a more substantial varnish coat to your piece prior to applying the pigment.
Anyway, this is all shaping up beautifully.
On a side note, I don't think the varnish blowing away the powder is the main factor; having been mucking about with the stuff over the weekend I have failed to shift it from where I didn't want it even with vigorous blowing. I reckon it's mostly down to losing the difference in finish across a surface once the whole lot gets varnished. Plus even the mattest of varnishes is not powder-matt.
All that being said, you can apparently get away with minimal change to the look with a very light matt varnish, sprayed from a decent distance (or so I've read, I don't have much first hand experience with the stuff either) - you'd want to give a more substantial varnish coat to your piece prior to applying the pigment.
Anyway, this is all shaping up beautifully.