Cold Wax and Oil Painting Techniques: Beyond the Reference

In this demonstration, I take you through the creation of a Venice cityscape using oil paint and cold wax, discussing not only the medium itself but, more importantly, the mindset behind creating a painting that moves beyond simply copying a reference photograph.

Using one of my own travel photographs from Venice, we'll explore how to design a composition, simplify complex architecture, preserve expressive mark-making, and build a painting through multiple layers while maintaining atmosphere and emotion.

As a bonus, I'll also reveal the unique underpainting beneath the finished work—a traditional casein ground and underpainting—which provides an exceptional surface for cold wax and oil.

Whether you work in oils, acrylics, cold wax, or another medium entirely, I hope you'll find a few ideas here that encourage you to think more as a designer than simply a copier of photographs.

Materials Used
• Oil Paints
• Cold Wax Medium
• Casein Ground
• Casein Underpainting (Raw Umber & Yellow Ochre)
• Palette Knives
• Putty Knives
• Designer Knives
• Painting Panel

Chapters
00:00 Introduction & The Inspiration
03:50 Cold Wax
07:09 Painting with Knives
09:09 Building Surface and History
11:48 Designing vs Painting
16:43 The Casein Foundation
22:04 Final Painting Review

If you enjoyed this demonstration or have questions about cold wax, casein, palette knife techniques, or any of the concepts discussed throughout the video, please leave a comment below. Many of my future videos come directly from your questions and suggestions.

Thank you for watching, and happy painting.

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