Class Description:

Artists will learn about the oil & cold wax experience from mixing to applying it, using unconventional tools to create different mark-making textures. Cold wax is buttery soft and when mixed with oil paint adds body, transparency and depth to the painting.

Through a process of layering and manipulating different oil and cold wax layers, rich abstract paintings are created, filled with vibrant color and visual texture. In this workshop, you’ll create 12 small paintings on one large piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper.

This class is perfect for the beginner and exciting to the experienced artist. All classes begin with a demonstration of the process by Diane.

There is a materials fee of $20 per artist payable at the class.

Materials provided by students

1 roll of paper towels

Thin collage papers to insert into paintings

1 large piece of cardboard to transport work home

Plastic bags for garbage

Materials provided by instructor

Cold wax

Oil Paints

Palette Knife, silicone scrapers

Wax paper, Freezer wrap

Tissue paper

Stencils

Embossing tools

Brayers and Citra Solv

Knitting needles, wooden skewers, oil pastels, glitter, R&F oil sticks, bubble wrap and more

About Diane Brown:

Diane Brown is an award-winning mixed-media artist, specializing in Oil & Cold Wax. She exhibits in the New England area; Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and in Oregon and NYC.

She is an Elected Artist at the Mystic Museum of Art, an Associate Member of The Artist Cooperative Gallery of Westerly, the New Haven Paint & Clay Club, The Newport Museum of Art, the Art League of New Britain, South County Art Association, The Allied Artists of America, Branford Art and Cultural Alliance, Madison Art Association, an Associate Member of the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Center, Essex Art Association, The Salmagundi Club and Lyme Art Association.

She has been commissioned by The Rose Project in Bethesda, Maryland as well as Eastern Connecticut State University.

She has produced commissions for individual residences in Georgia, Florida, and Connecticut.

Artist Statement:

My work is inspired by the natural and organic formations, surface patterns and textures found all around us. I create my abstracts while combining oil paint and cold wax. This medium affords me the freedom to work with any color, use tools forming various textures and movement while painting simple, elegant and thought provoking art with a process that is organic and playful.

I’m drawn to color, shape, pattern, and texture as they relate to one another.I’m excited by the design elements produced by using tools other than paint brushes and the depth one can reach by applying layers of oil & cold wax to paper or onto a board.Stencils, stamps, cheesecloth and brayers, to name a few, achieve textures which add new energy across the entire surface of the painting.In this process I’m enjoying the strength of movement and satisfying rhythms.

I embrace my new found ability to experiment, express and explore the realm of contemporary abstract art.