I first heard of cold wax medium when another artist said they use it over their watercolor paintings and it give s nice satin luster. Intrigued, I watched some videos, very process oriented, and thus abstract. I wanted to try it, it looked fun. I bought a beautiful book on it (this one, if you are interested), and a can of the medium and then….got totally intimidated. I looked through the book, was overwhelmed. The can sat on a shelf, and I swear it glowed at me. A year passed.
And then a few months ago I went for it and tried it out. I love it LOVE IT.
I used watercolors for years and loved the flow and partnership I felt with it. But I wanted a change. I felt intimidated by oil paint and all the technical rules. Cold wax medium simplifies all of that. It is fun to work in layers with it, and it is beautifully textured.
I love the convenience of acrylic paint, but I just never LOVED it. I never looked at it and thought it was so beautiful. I feel judgmental about it. But when I am looking at art in person, I can usually tell when it is acrylic and well it is oil. And I just think that oil paint is gorgeous, even just a blob on a palette. I love the smell of linseed oil. I love the history of it. But I know other people who really love acrylic, truly love it. I’m not saying one is better, I’m just saying be honest.
I think that it important. It makes painting like cooking. It is more fun to cook with ingredients you are excited about. I am more excited to make a salad with vegetables I grew myself. It simply has more meaning, and is a more aesthetic experience.
If you are curious to try cold wax and oil, I made a couple of videos of some experiments to try.