Painting with Cold Wax

Cold Wax Medium

This is a wonderful painting medium, a bit like painting with butter

 The safest way is to add your pure gum turpentine or citrus solvent to the wax in a glass jar and leave for a couple of weeks to dissolve. I have not had a great deal of success with this method.Or my preferred method is to heat the wax ( You can use either premade encaustic medium or straight beeswax) and then remove from the heat and add the pure gum turpentine stirring till well mixed and allow to cool. Begin with a 50/50 mix and adjust until you have a mix you like. Remember it can always be thinned by adding more turpentine when cold to make a glazing consistency

For a quick alternative to try but some beeswax based furniture polish

I mix my cold wax medium with dry pigment and a little walnut oil on a glass plate

you could use a white ceramic plate 

This is the beginning of some pieces of cold wax painting 

on watercolour paper covered in traditional gesso

some lovely red oxide to begin

then yellow ochre

indigo blue

I use raw natural indigo powder

This is a painting done entirely with

cold wax medium,

walnut oil,

and natural pigment 

Here it is finished with scratching 

and rubbed with indigo and walnut oil

And second piece before

and after

Pics from the Still Life Exhibtion

still

remaining in place or at rest; motionless;stationary: free from sound or noise, as a place or persons;silent:

subdued or low in sound; hushed:

free from turbulence or commotion; peaceful;tranquil; calm:

at this or that time; as previously:

up to this or that time; as yet:

in the future as in the past:

to calm, appease, or allay:

to become still or quiet.

life

the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual:

a corresponding state, existence, or principle ofexistence conceived of as belonging 

to the soul

the general or universal condition of human existence:

any specified period of animate existence:

for or lasting a lifetime; lifelong:

My Art is all about walking lightly on the earth. I am exploring process through mixed media works utilizing selected natural art materials chosen for their sustainability and low environmental impact.  These have been developed through a series of experiments with traditional/historic mediums such as casein, egg, starch resists, natural dyes and earth pigments.

This series of work explores the nature of grief and the loss of people close to me. Looking at birth, life, death, and the possibility of rebirth - where something positive can hopefully eventually arise from the experience.

I have interpreted the concept of Still Life through the deconstruction of the concept into two separate entities, Still and Life. I hope to convey both a sense of stillness and the sense of a life that still lives on - the still point in a storm of grief, where waves of emotion wash over me.

The base of all the pieces is made from recycled bed sheets. This represents the lived experience as well as the winding sheet (or shroud) and the cloth that binds a new born infant. This fabric is coated in traditional gesso made from rabbit skin glue and whiting (calcium carbonate) and then embellished with naturally occurring substances including beeswax, natural pigments, charcoal, ink and walnut oil. As a final coating all the pieces feature the use of Xanthorrhoea resin which comes from the Australian Native Grass Tree and is only available after the plant has been through a fire.

 

Mending the Unthinkable

 55.5 x 112.5 cm

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Ink, Hand Stitch in Cotton/Silk thread

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

Now for sale in my Etsy Shop

detail

Stillness of Being

54.5 x 114 cm

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Starch Paste (Flour, Milk, Soy Milk)

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits
Now for sale in my Etsy Shop

The Return

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Ink, Egg, Natural Pigment

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

rgin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:14.2pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center'>Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine) 1pt;text-align:center'>Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Now for sale in my Etsy Shop

Fragments

81 pieces

Each 12 x 18 cm

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Charcoal, Ink, Natural Pigments,

Egg, Encaustic medium (Beeswax & Damar Resin)

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

Hand Stitch in Cotton/Silk thread

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

On Recycled Cotton Sheeting

These will be available in Etsy shop soon

Please let me know if you might be interested 

in any of them $50 ea + postage

I can do a better price for multiples

These are the pieces from the exhibition I am currently taking part in

It is up for another week

Opening night was fabulous

Thanks to all who joined me

Home again now and just settling into the routine

Enjoying the cool change

though the swamp around the house

is a little hard to take

Grampians Textures and time spent with 

Velma Bolyard

a truly wonderful experience

I am now looking forward to some teaching

first up in the Blue Mountains for 

Contextart

Here I am doing a 2 day Natural Dye Mixed Media Workshop

and a 4 day Plaster Books and Wax Workshop

Hurry for this one as it is next month

Closer to Queensland

In June I am off to Rockhampton for

Wrapt in Rocky

5 day Plaster Books and Wax Workshop

and in August 

Wendy Bailye's Studio

Brisbane

for a 4 day Natural Dye Mixed media Workshop

Hope to see and meet lots of people

at these workshops

x te