This Is An Exciting Time
November was a fantastic month! Why? Because I finally was able to see you in person. I had a wonderful Open Studio November 6-7th. This was Morgan Hill’s first Open Studio featuring 40 plus artists from Morgan Hill and Gilroy, CA. It was a great success.
Time Travel 36″ X 36″
Time Travel 36″ X 36″
I am sure you recall when I wrote about completing 120 abstract paintings, starting on November 2019 and ending March 2020. (Source: One Hundred and Twenty Abstracts) The goal for creating these were to become familiar with abstraction. Little did I know that this would be a catalyst for another successful and productive time for me. In January 2021, I decided to take twelve of the best studies from the 120 abstracts and enlarge them to 36” x 36”. The series is called Twelve of Twelve (Source: Evolution Of An Artist Series) All Twelve paintings were produced on Arches oil paper with Cold Wax and oil, plus mixed media.
I am excited to say that I completed the Twelve of Twelve series on September 14th. It is with great satisfaction, that not only did I complete this challenging project, but that they also came out beautifully. They are now being mounted on 1-1/2” cradled panels for my upcoming shows.
Open Studio Event
I am having an Open Studio in my home, November 6th and 7th between 10 p.m. to 4 p.m. You are all invited. The second show will be by invitation only at Cordevalle Country Club, Saturday, December 4th. If you are serious about finding a piece for your home, please let me know if you would like to go to the latter.
As I mentioned, this goal put me in a mode of productivity. I decided to redo my website entirely. With lots of help, I do believe that I now have a website that has fulfilled my dreams. I hope that you find it as amazing as I do. I would love for you to subscribe to my website for future notifications and information.
My next blog will be a notification on how to win a free painting or two, if you subscribe to my website. More will be announced in the next week or two. All subscribers old and new will have a chance to win.
I would love to see you at my Open Studio, I hopefully will have time to do a demo. You will also be able see and purchase many new creations.
Contact me personally on my website, and I will send you physical invitation. Thank you!
Where Have I Been?
I'm so sorry I have been missing. Last year and this year has been a pursuit to explore and discover. I have taken many classes some that you may have read about in my previous posts, with Melinda Cootsona and Martin Campos. After taking the classes with Martin and Melinda, I took two eCourses with Pauline Agnew that included Pathways to Abstraction and Pathways to Abstraction The Figure. Upon completing I took another class from Melinda on Six Approaches to Abstracting the Figure. I have been very fortunate to be able to take classes from teachers that are masters their field.
Needless to say I have been working very hard and have a lot of new work to share. The painting that I am showing above, "Red Wind" is one of my first larger paintings using Cold Wax Medium. I love how it turned out and am very excited to present it to you. It originally began upside down, but I felt an urge to turn it in the opposite direction during the creation. I do believe that we reverse images in our mind. I now discovered a wonderful image of what appeared to me as an island with a forest reflecting in the water. The energy that swirls in the strokes is an added bonus, thus the name "Red Wind". Cold Wax allows a transparency and texture that cannot be found with oil alone. I love the depth created by using this medium.
The painting is available for sale. Please contact me if you are interested at jvander51@gmail.com
Cold Wax Part II Tools and Applications
Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.~Frank Borman
This is part two of my Cold Wax post covering tools and applications. Please read part one before continuing if you haven't done so. We've talked about the supports and types of wax in my previous post. Essentially, it is best to use a harder support if you want to use thicker layers of wax. Below are the lists of tools and mediums used with CWM.
Tools for applying the wax: Brayers (2",4" & 6" Speedball and Inovart ), brushes (all sizes, all types), Princeton Catalyst Blades, pallet knives, Princeton Catalyst Silicone Wedge, Dough Scraper by Wilton
Tools for drawing: Charcoal, Graphite stick (preferably soft), oil sticks, oil bars, bamboo skewer, stencils, doily, Q-tips, oil pastels, beeswax crayons, knitting needles, pottery scraper, pottery carving tool, oil pen, stamps, the above Princeton Catalyst Blades and Wedges can also be used for marking.
Tools for creating texture: Rubber basting brush, steel wool, yarn or string, plastic combs, pattern tracers, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, whisk broom, muslin, florist mesh, cheese cloth
Mediums: Following to thicken CW-Marble dust, lime, coffee, dirt, graphite powder, Gilder paste, sand; Citra Solve and Gamsol to remove layers of wax, Gamblin Solvent free Gel, Solvent free fluid and Liquin to thin mixture or glaze.
Application: Prior to putting down the first layer of CWM, prime your support with a solid color of oil paint of your choice. Let the it dry throughly before laying down layers of CWM. Take a large sheet of Reynolds Freezer Paper, tape it to a flat surface. This will be your pallet. Lay out your pallet of oil paint, take a dollop of oil paint and mix with pallet knife 30 to 50% of CWM. Then take your brayer and roll into mixture on Freezer Paper. Roll the mixture on primed support. Take another color and do the same, etc. You can lay wet into wet if you have a light touch. You can dry in between layers.
It is advised that you work on more than one painting at a time to allow for drying time. You will have different drying times for different colors of oil paint.
You can then build up by layering with larger amounts by applying it with pallet knife, squeegee, wedge etc. As the wax dries, you can start to scrape, revealing the layers below, or you can use any of your drawing tools. Drawing is much easier if the layers are somewhat dry. It is easier to mark when it is tacky and not completely dry.
There isn't one way to use CWM. I noticed through my research that each artist creates their own style. Some artist may create abstracts, while other may create landscapes, still life or figures. Some artists may prefer the squeegee, wedge, scraper or pallet knife to apply the cold wax and oil paint mixture rather than the roller or a combination of both.
Experiment and have fun, discover your own way with CWM.
Below are a couple of videos using Cold Wax Medium.
https://youtu.be/mc0NvgyLm_E
https://youtu.be/M4nwjauyMZc