Cold Wax Painting at Arrowmont: A Week of Creativity and Discovery!
I just returned from an inspiring week of teaching at the wonderful Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and what a week it was!
Thirteen enthusiastic and adventurous artists joined me for a five-day workshop exploring the exciting possibilities of oil paint and cold wax medium. They were such a creative group!
For those unfamiliar with cold wax, it’s a soft paste medium made primarily from beeswax, resin, and solvent that can be mixed with oil paint to create beautiful textures, translucent layers, and rich, expressive surfaces. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities—layering, scraping, mark-making, and even incorporating printmaking techniques into the painting process. It’s a medium that encourages experimentation, spontaneity, and the occasional happy accident!
And experiment we did!
My students were fearless. They played, took risks, tried unfamiliar techniques, and occasionally struggled through those inevitable moments when a painting just doesn’t seem to be cooperating. But that’s where some of the best discoveries happen! By the end of the week, everyone had pushed beyond their comfort zones and created an impressive collection of original artwork, much of it ready to hang on the wall.
One of the things I love most about teaching cold wax is watching artists discover their own visual language. Even though everyone learns the same techniques, the results are wonderfully individual. No two artists approach the process quite the same way, and that’s what makes it so exciting.
And here’s some wonderful news! The enthusiasm for the workshop and everything the students accomplished has led to an invitation to return to Arrowmont in 2027 for a second week-long course, Cold Wax on Paper II. I’m absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to take these techniques even further with students!
A huge thank-you to the talented artists who brought such energy, curiosity, and creativity to the studio, and to everyone at Arrowmont for making the week such a memorable experience.
Take a look below at some of the wonderful artwork created during our week together!
Carl Ulaszek with Rachael’s painting he purchased.
“Charlie I” (aka Charlotte) with her beautiful 4-up painting
