Using Cold Wax Medium to Varnish Watercolor Paintings

[@AL-lz1hb]

I like the soft look of the wax finish on my paintings acrylic and mixed media. Now I'm thinking, go for watercolour too! Great!! I just use a silicone pallete knife/brush. Keeps my sticky fingers cleaner and seems to work for me. Like the watercolour on the wood panel too.

[@YellowMelle]

You're totally right! I started using the silicone scraper thingy too, it's a bit of a life saver.

[@sarahberry3819]

Did you notice if it dulled your metallic water colour paint at all…i did hear you say that you sprayed it before adding the wax medium - did you spray the whole picture first or was that just the edges that you aprayed. I am doing a painting for my daughter & she wants to mount that on canvas, I have used gold water colour accents on parts of the painting and have decided to finish it with wax medium so it will be protected for mounting on canvas….but i dont want the gold paint to dull. Would be interested to know if the wax coating affects / dulls the mica in the metallic water colour paint.

[@YellowMelle]

Good question! I've done this a bunch of times since, and I've gone ahead and put the wax medium on without spraying anything on the painting first. There's not really much moisture to reactivate the watercolours, and I've been spreading it on a little with a palette knife before using the towel, to help minimize friction a bit. There is some watercolour pigment that rubs onto the towel, but not enough to ruin the picture, so I'm okay with that! Just be gentle, I guess. As for metallic watercolours, I still use them with success! They sort of look dulled at first as the wax is applied, but after drying, I can buff it to be a bit smoother and then the gold is shiny again. Maybe not 100% as shiny as it started, but at least 90% shiny! You can kind of control how glossy you want it to be by buffing it more or less, which is really nice.

[@sarahberry3819]

@@YellowMelle Thank you so much for that.

[@HeidHorch]

Very cool! I have been experimenting with watercolor ground on canvas and panel, but I've never tried the transparent one. I love the effect of it on the wood panel. I also just got some cold wax to try on my acrylic paintings, but now I have to try it on my watercolors too! I just mounted some to board so it will be perfect for that. Thanks for sharing your process!

[@impish22]

really sweet painting...

[@maryflower3479]

Beautiful work

[@Android_replicant]

You can use normal beeswax to protect watercolors, even on paper, it is enough to use the pure wax without solvents, melting it to the fire and applying it with spatula, when it is dry it can be polished with satin or other types of cloth, it has to be done quickly if made on paper, because it can not be reheated, in wood can be applied, heat with a hair dryer, to make the surface uniform and brighten it,will dry faster than cold wax and will not get dirty with dust

[@YellowMelle]

nice!

[@WedittsPlaythings]

I make my cold wax medium: it is beeswax, Gamsol, and damar resin, so I agree - I would use a soft cloth and not my hands. The stickiness will diminish as it dries (skins over?). I had not seen this use of cold wax, very interesting. tfs!

[@YellowMelle]

Oh I should keep poking it then to see if it feels different later...

[@fayecook9171]

WAX ON WAX OFF......sorry just had to say that....thats a different brand to what I use but sounds a similar mix.I spray with a uv protective sealer first ,I use a soft cloth and the stickiness should go once the wax has set.I love how the piece came out.

[@sharonolsen6579]

This is beautiful !! What an interesting process... I learned a lot from this.. so thanks again for another great video !! ps.. I actually have a tip ... (shocker... lol) I save pieces of old t-shirts, sheets cut up... for when lint free application is needed.. (also make great cleaning cloths for glass.. computer screens, tv screens.. etc...) no lint and very soft so as not to damage..

[@YellowMelle]

Ugh, I have a bunch of old shirts, too. Haha.

[@fatima34me]

Thank you so much!

[@CatcachuToo]

Beautiful! Really enjoyed watching!

[@karenclarkcreations]

Ooh, that it's so pretty! Will you use that medium on paper?

[@YellowMelle]

I guess if I was gluing it to a board or something, sure!

[@karenclarkcreations]

LouiseLamirandeArt ... thanks for the advice!