And the WAX of choice is...

Yes...Renaissance Wax Polish

This product manufacturer claimed it is used by the British Museum

so I called the BM  to check. I enjoyed my inquiry 

being treated with great respect by a gentleman in the

restoration department.  I was informed they 

do indeed use it and they find it truly 

is a wonderful product. Absolutely safe to use as a 

protective coat on paintings.

Get this...it dries almost instantly 

and it has not lifted off any color. 

I placed my painting done on Yupo paper 

in water overnight after coating, and it 

remained  perfectly protected so it really is excellent as a sealer.

As well as waxing the Yupo paper,

 I have tried it on a watercolor painted on aquabord,

 a gouache painting done on 100% cotton paper,

and I liked the finish it gives, very much.

It smells like furniture polish before it dries so I use it in a vented area.

Below is a very short video showing how I apply it.

(unedited as I do not know how to do that yet)

I place it on with a palette knife using the bottom flat part to spread. 

An old cotton t-shirt is perfect to buff it up to the sheen I like.

A note about price.

I purchased mine at the Artisan in Santa Fe NM.

The 200ml size was $35.50. Not cheap!

It goes a long way and this may last me a lifetime!

I do like Gamblin's Cold Wax for mixing with oil paint. This is not to be confused

with that type of use.

Testing Wax Finish on Yupo

Tree Study.
10x8in watercolor Not for sale

Artist Note
This was a practice watercolor on Yupo. Learning
to handle the non absorbent surface is an interesting
way to spend time. I have a few of these types of
painting experiments and they are handy to try out
the different wax or varnish coating
Below is a close-up of the tiny, tiny bubbly marks
the force of the spray varnish made...even though I
held the canister far enough away to land very lightly.
I held it at an angle for you to see
what I mean.
Watercolor on Yupo lifts off too easily.

The next one is showing the wax finish and the
soft sheen it gives when held to the light

The watercolor below originally had a richer color which
lifted off when I applied Dorland's cold wax.
(Dorland's is great with oil)

I have tried three different brands of wax and tomorrow
I will show which product I like best with a
short video on how I apply the wax.
IF I can get it to work!!

Daffodils and Hyacinth #3

Daffodils and Hyacinth #3

8x6in oil on canvas panel  $125. SOLD

To purchase click HERE

Another one of the daffs while they are still blooming.
This time in a more formal setting.

Artists Note
There was considerable interest shown on my previous
post when I mentioned using a wax finish on watercolors.
I have used it previously and I personally love the more
mellow finish it gives than a regular varnish.
On one of my pieces, a certain brand of wax lifted some of
the color, but I have another brand I am testing on
watercolor/Yupo and wax coating. It is perfect, but Yupo
has a smooth finish and the Aquabord has a slight pebble
type surface...makes a difference. Will let you know how it
goes. Here is KIM's comment yesterday.

 Beautiful painting!!!I am working on a painting 
I plan on mounting on a board and coating. After doing some research 
I cam a across a great video by Birgit O'Connor, Framing Watercolor 
without Glass. She recommends using Golden Acrylic Spray with 
UVL protection. 5-7 coats and you must let it completely dry in-between 
coats or you may get clouding. She uses a few coats of gloss for clarity t
hen follows with the last coats matte. I'm going to try this. 
Hope this helps!  by Kim Minichiell

Thanks, Kim, I enjoyed the video.

Watercolor Daffodils

Watercolor Daffodils

8x8 in  watercolor on Aquabord  $135. SOLD
click to purchase

Another painting from the same bunch of flowers.
This time larger, and in watercolor.
It is amazing how fresh they are keeping.

Artist Note

This watercolor will not have to be framed under glass
because it is on a board and not paper
I will have to place a protective coat on it.
Varnish or wax? I prefer wax, but does anyone have
any suggestions for other protective coatings?

Daffodils and Hyacinths - Study

Daffodils and Hyacinths - Study.

8x6in oil on canvas panel  $125. SOLD

Click HERE to purchase

A friend brought a huge bunch of daffs and
hyacinths to the Guild for me to paint.
Such cheerful colors - I felt my spirits lifting
as I started to mix them.
Thank you Karen Curry. You are a treasure!

Spectacular Cloud Formation.

Photo. Moon Rising over the Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM.

The Organ Mountain Range is quite large, and for me to see how
this cloud formation hovered over it was pretty well spectacular.
If you click the image to enlarge you will see the different layers
are full of warm and cool colors  

Artist Note.
I had several emails reporting that my previous post did not show
the comment area. Here I am thinking hardly anyone liked it!
Oh boy - it really does pay to take some happy pills!

The link did work to Sharon's blog though and that was important.
She was thrilled and I thank you  for visiting my blog today
Yes, I really do appreciate it.

                                                                                                                      

Fracturing the Flowers

Flowers - Spider Mums and Alstroemeria.

6x8in  oil on canvas panel   SOLD

Artist Note

This is one of the paintings I did when I was exploring
and developing my fracturing technique.
I decided to post an older one because although
I painted today I could not do anything I liked.
I did spend some time painting though.

I would like to link you to a post sent to me by
Sharon Rose Smith
She came out for two days to learn Fracturing and
did a great job...I mean a really great job
We hit it off and became fast friends.

The White Roof

The White Roof

8x6in oil on canvas board 125.

A northern New Mexico landscape in the fall.

Artist Note.
Playing it safe with a format I have used before.
At the moment painting seems to be a struggle
so I thought I would go back to a safe area and
not set myself up for failure.

This month at the Artist Guild the focus has been
painting the landscape with a structure in it.
Most of us painted houses, gates or walls,
but we also had an artist who added a boat,
another did a dam, and I do believe I saw a
wonderful  bridge.

We had to use the following in our painting.
A FOREGROUND
A MIDDLE GROUND
A BACKGROUND

Crab-apple Blossom Study

Crab-apple Blossom Study

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $125.

Click HERE to purchase

Getting ready to paint crab-apples in a larger size.

Best to do some studies first.

Artist Note.

Anyone else relate to this?

Cleaning out the stash of old paintings I always thought I would get back to do

some magic brushwork on and improve them. Found just over a 100.

What to do...

Pour black tar paint over them - Ahhh...that made me feel so much better!

Yep, Julie must still be having a hard time and cleaning is the way to better mental health!

Georgia' O'Keeffe's Casa at Ghost Ranch, NM

Georgia's Casa and Pedernal. SOLD

Georgia loved the mountain called Pedernal and reportedly
claimed God made it just for her. As she requested, her ashes
were spread at the top of it.

Artist Note.
I had to take my references from over the wall which
surrounds the O'Keeffe home on Ghost Ranch.

I have been having the dickens of a time painting something
which satisfies me. I hate to think how many wipers
I had with this one. I will share some of the painting
journey with you.

This is a photo
I took of a view
of the house in
Abiquiu.
Thought it would be
easy...Wrong!

I tried making the
windows more
prominent. That was
my error.
Wiped it off.
Did it again and
wiped it off...
three times in all!



Just like the song, Georgia on my Mind, I still felt
compelled to say something relating to O'Keeffe
with paint so I found more photos, location sketches,
 and using the same board wiped clean...

Ugh - the scale/size is
off  between the distance
of foreground to house
and bush in front
looks too much in
the middle

Wiped and made
the house smaller.
Bush at side larger...
Oh boy, house looks
like a school bus!
That mountain called
Pedernal, is very,
very difficult

House smaller - better?
Nope!
Noticed too much of a
row lined up at bottom,
Added more sky and
tested grey cloud
Scraped off bottom

Put more blue sky in and
weeds at front. Enlarged
casa a little bit, but now
I have the darned house
ending in the dead middle!
- take gun and pull the
trigger someone. Put me
out of my misery.

And so it goes.
Here is what I settled on.
(heeello...is there a house in there!)
I shortened the edge of the
house to prevent it being on
a tangent with the center by
making the bush into a
larger shape.


I suggested a path of dirt from the front up. I placed some more
clouds in the sky and made them appear further away by making
the shadows lighter.

I am going through some emotional stress at the moment and can see
how it effects my art. Everything is a struggle.

Tea and Pears - Watercolor

Tea and Pears

8x6in watercolor on aquabord  $125. SOLD
Protective coating added

I have a new teapot.  I am still having fun
trying to figure out its different viewpoints.

Artist Note.

After FOUR WIPERS trying to paint
a landscape of Georgia O'Keeffe's house
on Ghost Ranch...I took a deep breath, decided
not to ram the palette knife through my heart
and changed my media.
I know...you have all been through it and
surely do understand and sympathize.

This is the second painting done with
watercolor on the Ampersand Aquabord.
I am exploring the different ways to use
the fracturing technique on this surface.
The Aquabord intrigues me as you do not
have to put the watercolor under glass
as long as it has a protective coating.

The surface is different. It has a fine pebbly
tooth.  I like the way you can place
flowing wash or dry brush using the texture
of the surface.
.
I recommend this video tutorial from
Ampersand/Dick Blick