Wax in some form or another has been in my studio for a number of years. I use it as a finish to acrylic paintings, as a texture for printing intaglio and as a painting medium. Wax is a marvellous and versatile medium with a long history of being used creatively.

One of the most common types of wax used in art is beeswax, which is derived from honeybees. Beeswax is known for its smooth texture and ability to hold pigments well, making it a popular choice for encaustic painting.  Microcrystalline wax is often blended with beeswax, it has a higher melting point than paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is derived from petroleum, whilst often used in candle making it smokes when heated above a certain temperature and dries very brittle so should be avoided.

However, whilst both Encaustic Medium and Cold Wax Medium contain wax that is where the similarities end. They are VERY different mediums, each with their own uses and limitations. I run a monthly zoom meeting for members of my Print & Paper Forum* and was asked to explain the differences in the wax mediums available.  I put together this rather scrappy video for them, but thought I would share it with you, and use this blog to demystify the wonderful world of wax.

ENCAUSTIC MEDIUM

Encaustic medium is a mix of beeswax and resin, available ready-made in blocks or pellets. Encaustic painting dates back to Ancient Rome, and it is a long-lasting, stable medium. The addition of resin provides both flexibility and durability. The medium is heated to a temperature that makes it liquid by using a hot plate, electric griddle or heated wax pot.  Many artists then add pigment and paint with it and as the work is created, the layers are fused together permanently with a hot air gun or torch.

I have explored painting with encaustic medium but for some reason it didn’t appeal. I think it is because I like my paint to stay fluid, to be able to push it around. Encaustic hardens as soon as it cools.  However, working with molten wax is seductive, I love how it flows and the smell is gorgeous. I was determined to bring it into my practice in some form! I now use it for my two primary processes; collage and printmaking.

HOW I USE ENCAUSTIC MEDIUM

COLLAGE

Unpigmented encaustic medium, makes an excellent archival adhesive for collage. It soaks into the thin tissues I use and gives the work a luminous glow. My short course Encaustic Collage comes out later this year.

.

PRINTMAKING

Encaustic medium can also be used as a texture for printing intaglio, this is called Encaustic Collagraphy. This process was devised by Elise Wagner. I contacted her many years ago and she shared her process. During lockdown we finally ‘met’ on a zoom course she ran. More recently we met in person in London. Elise creates and sells her medium specifically for use in collagraphy printmaking, it will soon be available in the UK.  We are chatting about my making a short online course. Watch this space! The encaustic collagraphy medium is melted and applied to a surface; plastic, card, or wood. The wax can be carved into and manipulated to provide texture. Once cooled it is inked and printed in the same way as any collagraph plate. The wax resists the ink, leaving white areas, but holds it in the lines and textures. Here I am with Elise in London May ’25 and two of my prints; one using old book covers as the base, the other using plywood.

COLD WAX MEDIUM

Cold wax medium is very different to encaustic medium. It is a firm paste that is designed to be mixed with oil paint to change its consistency and drying time. It contains solvents, and as such should never be heated as this can release harmful fumes. I first started using it in 2016 when Rebecca Crowell and Jerry Mclaughlin published Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations. Up until that point I had been primarily using acrylics and acrylic pastes and gels to build rich textural paintings. I love scraping back and sanding down to reveal textures and layers. Cold wax medium provided a wax experience without the hardness of cold encaustic, and the ability to reveal layers without the need to use a power sander. I had used oil paints but found the drying time restrictive, cold wax medium hardens over weeks rather than months.

At the time I was working from my studio in southern Spain and spent the next few years working solely with oil and cold wax medium. I was painting and exhibiting in Spain, and teaching oil and cold wax when in the UK. In 2019 I was asked to write a blog post for Jacksons comparing cold wax mediums, it was published in January 2020…. Just before lockdown.  Cold Wax Medium comparison – Sally Hirst Courses

HOW I USE COLD WAX MEDIUM

My course Discover Painting with Oil and Cold Wax is a fabulous introduction to using both oil paint and cold wax medium. I have used it more extensively for my course with Painting With Fire vol 6 an annual, year long online event with 29 artists. This year it is a blend of prominent encaustic and cold wax artists. With around 60 hours of video content it well worth diving in and enjoying not just my course, but those by a wide range of fabulous artists including Rebecca Crowell! ** However as with encaustic medium I wanted to make it my own, to use it in a way that was consistent with my current practice of collage and printmaking.

PAINTING.

I have been using oil and cold wax to build rich textural layers on paper designed for oil paint, and using these papers for collage. I have developed this process to be my main course with Painting with Fire, These are a few examples of the textural papers I have built for that course. Each has between three and five layers of oil and cold wax. Wet paint can be pushed through stencils, dry paint can be scraped back to reveal underlayers. Once dry these papers are cut to shapes and collaged to panels. The thickness of the substrate means they can only be butted together but the freedom to explore shapes and composition once the paints have been put away is exciting. This two stage process is one I have been using for the last few years; creating papers with freedom and play, before clearing all the paints away and using the papers for collage. I find I am more focused, less inclined to reach for the gesso, and there is no danger of the ‘perpetual painting’ syndrome. Without the paints in sight I can focus on composition and playing with the papers.

PRINTMAKING.

When oil and cold wax medium are mixed they create a thick rollable consistency. It is perfect for monotype printmaking and stenciling. These techniques are taught as part of my contribution to Painting With Fire. By using thin tissues as the substrate I can use these papers for collage.

COLLAGE

As well as creating papers both thick and thin with oil and cold wax, the cold wax medium itself acts as an adhesive. This is very different from using a paste or acrylic medium, not only does it take a few weeks rather than minutes to dry, think of it as embedding rather than attaching. Thin layers of collage papers can be added to the collages made with the thicker papers, building layers for variety and contrast. Wax loves wax. so adhesion is not a problem. These are the collages on panel I created for Painting With Fire.

FINISHING

I regularly use Cold Wax Medium to finish artwork as an alternative to varnish on my acrylic collages on canvas and panel. I love the soft sheen it provides. I seal the surface first with gloss medium to ensure there is no differences with absorption and then apply a thick layer of Cold Wax Medium. After 72 hours it can be buffed. Of course once wax is used its a one way street…..I cant go back with more acrylic.

I hope that helps! My book Printmaking for Collage comes out later this year. I have included a section on encaustic collage.

*Print & Paper Forum is a free community for anyone signed up to one of my printmaking, collage or book arts course (Except Explore courses) I set it up as an alternative to running a Facebook group….

** PAINTING WITH FIRE the early bird price until 21st April is only $249