What is Cold Wax Oil Painting?
Cold wax painting is any type of painting that makes extensive use of cold wax medium in oil colors. Cold wax is a buttery-soft oil painting medium made of beeswax and a small amount of solvent and resin. It is an excellent medium for achieving a wide range of textures.

Cold Wax Painting For Beginners
If you've never tried oil painting or have been disappointed with previous attempts, giving cold wax painting techniques a try could completely transform your artwork. Cold wax does not necessitate any special care. At room temperature, it is simply mixed with oil paint and remains workable for a long time. It can also be perfectly layered with other media, making working with it a one-of-a-kind magical experience.

For cold wax painting, you’ll need a palette, tablespoon, a cold wax medium, oil paint, a palette knife, a brayer/key card or bowl scraper, a rigid painting surface, a variety of stencils and stamps, texture items like fabric, thin collage papers, plastic fruit bags, etc., mark-making or scraping tools like oil paintbrushes or chopsticks, soft cloth, disposable gloves, oil pastels, and odorless solvent.

On your palette and add a couple of tablespoons of cold wax to the palette to start your Cold Wax Painting Supplies Squeeze a small amount of oil paint onto the palette in a dark color. Add an equal amount of cold wax to the paint and combine with a palette knife. The mixture will have the appearance and feel of frosting. It's worth noting that mixtures with higher cold wax-to-paint ratios produce more texture and translucency. It becomes more interesting when you experiment with different colors and transparencies while varying the wax-to-paint ratio.

Spread the paint/cold wax mixture thinly onto the panel with a brayer, bowl scraper, or key card. Continue to mix different colors of paint with wax and apply the mixtures to the panel in thin layers with a brayer. Work directly over the damp paint or wait a few minutes for the paint to dry before adding more. Keep in mind that drying times vary depending on the climate. Scratching into the layers will help you produce great color surprises if you use alternate layers of transparent color with opaque mixtures. Titanium White can be used to make oil colors more opaque.

Then, using stencils and stamps, add texture and pattern to your artwork. Texture the layers as desired with a variety of materials such as fabric, plastic fruit bags, and so on. Lay the items on the rigid surface and press them into the wax with a brayer. To add texture, make marks with sticks, pencils, and other objects.
After you've added a few layers, try scraping through the paint or dripping the solvent and removing some paint to reveal underlying colors.

For a pop of shine, sprinkle some powdered pigments onto several areas of the painting and spread the powder around – please be sure to wear a mask, goggles and prevent inhaling these microscopic pigments as they can damage your helath. To help the powdered pigments adhere to the painting and add translucency, apply a thin layer of clear wax over them. Continue layering the elements with thin papers and oil pastels for additional mark making. Allow the piece to dry for a few days before buffing it with a soft cloth. Because wax acts as a sealant, there is no need to varnish.

Get More Insights About Cold Wax Oil Painting
If you want to learn cold wax and oil painting, you can also learn all the basics in my Cold Wax and Oil Techniques for Beginners course by clicking here.