Tools of the Cold Wax Trade

In which I explain some of the tools I've been using to make my cold wax paintings

Some artists love the feeling of painting, immersing themselves in the flow, letting out their ooey, gooey inside parts and pouring that onto the canvas. Or at least this is what I imagine other artists to be doing. I, on the other hand, love the process. Put me in front of a painting and I’m pondering how they did it. I like tools. I like materials. I like materials that do weird things. I like pushing said materials to see what they can do. Even more, I like coming up with repeatable processes that produce interesting results. When I make art, I wouldn’t say that I’m letting the Art speak through my hands, even though it probably seems that way. What I’m actually doing is coming up with a step by step process, involving a variety of tools and materials, to create interesting results. I am, after all, an engineer. Put another way, you could say I make an Art Machine that makes the Art.

Tools + Materials + Process* = Art

While everyone has access to the same tools and materials, I think the magic of Art really happens in the process. Everyone’s Process* is unique, different, and informed by a lifetime of experiences, learned skills, and their voice. I say Process with a * because if you put two different people in the same room with the same materials, they will get VASTLY different results. And this is a good thing.

My process is informed by the way my ultra-logical mind works, all the things I have experienced, and also that I’m an engineer at heart, which means I like systems and iterative design. I like plugging random numbers into an equation and beep, beep, boop, beep, getting a result out the other end. I will never shake these engineering roots, so I lean into them.

Hence the 100 project. Right now, I’m testing out a new system, putting it through its paces, learning the techniques, applications, problems, vulnerabilities, advantages, what I can do well, and what I can’t. I’m constantly looking at landscapes and wondering the process to create it. I’m also testing out a variety of tools to see what I like and what I don’t like. So I thought today, I’d share with you all my tools and materials. ¹