What cold wax does to a painting

People ask about the texture in the Tidewater paintings more than anything else. Most of it comes from one material: cold wax medium.

What it is

Cold wax is beeswax softened with a little solvent into a paste. Mixed into oil paint, it thickens the paint, makes it matte and lets each layer dry faster.

How I use it

1. Build: eight to twelve thin layers, each one a slightly different blue or grey.
2. Scrape: once a layer is firm, I pull back into it with a palette knife or a rubber scraper.
3. Sand: a light sanding at the end shows the colors underneath, like paint worn off a piling.

Looking after it

A cold wax painting needs nothing special. Keep it out of direct sun and away from a radiator, and dust it now and then with a soft, dry cloth.