Baby Blues – Another cold wax painting in progress

This is another wax painting in progress. This process really does require a great deal of patience from the artist. More than any medium I have worked with yet.

The worst part of this is that there are so many additional layers I want to add. More color to be introduced, hair needs to be more than just a fuzzy yellow light around her head.

And yet, as each layer dries and the depth of the painting grows, as more texture is added and removed and built upon I know it is worth the gradual steps.

Just over the left edge of her lips and the tip of her nose you see the wet wax layer that was just added. It will dry clear after only one day but will require a good two days before I can work on it again without digging into it with my brush. Or lifting wax away with a slightly heavy stroke.

Before I add each layer of wax I work as much of the surface with the paints as I can. Then very carefully add wax to any areas I need without smearing the paint. On her hat (top right of the photo) here I have used an alphabet stencil over wet oils to rub off parts of the hat.

The other issue I have is wanting to keep experimenting instead of finishing the painting. For instance, over the alpha letters in the hat I want to add a color wash. But if I do then that will be another layer to wait on. And who knows, it might be the thing that pushes it all over the top too far!

I think the term that comes to mind each time I look over at this and the other wax paintings is ‘mad scientist’. Nothing in my studio now is safe from being considered as a tool to use in the wax. I wonder, what will alcohol inks do to the wax? What about alcohol based stamp pads? And how about foil? Can I embed it into the wax? Can I adhere it to the surface of hardened wax? The possibilities are simply and beautifully endless!

Have a great weekend everyone! Oh, and I forgot I changed the blog design, what do you all think? I am satisfied with it!