Book Review: Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations

Special thanks to the authors Rebecca Crowell and Jerry McLaughlin for sending me a review copy to check out.

I've not heard of cold wax medium as an art medium before I learned about it in this book. The medium is quite fascinating, and so are the different ways that artists are using it. Although I know nothing about cold wax medium, at least I know that it exists and the potential it has to create art.

This book is a large 320-page paperback. Its publication was made possible because of a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo in 2016 where the authors raised slightly over US $45,000.

The first thing that impressed me is the production quality of the book. The paper it uses is semi-gloss and thick. The content is well laid out and within the pages are hundreds of well reproduced artworks. It is a substantial book.

The book claims to be "the first and comprehensive book of its kind". Comprehensive it sure is. When I read the first few chapters, I was amazed at the depth and amount of information included about cold wax medium. It starts of with the history and overview of cold wax medium, and moves on to talk about application.

This book features in-depth coverage on choosing materials and tools that can work with the medium, such as oils, dry pigments and other materials. It also goes into the safety aspects, like how you should handle the medium, and dispose of it.

There are hundreds of photographs included that show off the artworks and techniques of various artists. Over 100 artists are featured. There are even art critique sections with questions that you can ask yourself when assessing your own art. There are also profiles of artists who work with the medium.

Lastly at the back of the book are lists of contributing artists, sources, suppliers, resources, references and recommended reading.

This is a detailed and insightful book that also works well as a reference book. For artists who use or are exploring the potential of cold wax medium, this is probably a must-buy.

You can get the book at https://www.coldwaxbook.com/ and check out more info at https://www.facebook.com/ColdWaxBook/

Book's also available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk