Cate Salenger

Join us Tuesday, Feb 27, 2024 at 7 pm, at the RAA Gallery downtown, 215 E. State Street, Redlands.

Open to he public – no membership required – no charge.

Long time RAA member, Cate Salenger will be demonstrating the “Cold Wax” painting process. Cate will tell us the cold wax process is not encaustic as there is no heat used. Encaustic medium has to be molten to work with…cold wax does not. 

“Gamblin Cold Wax Medium a mixture of natural beeswax (wax pastilles), Gamsol and a small amount of alkyd resin. The term “cold” in Cold Wax Medium and Cold Wax Painting refers to the fact that heat is not required for working with this wax medium – as it dries by solvent evaporation (Gamsol), rather than the cooling of the wax, as in encaustic painting. As the Gamsol evaporates out of the medium, the soft wax hardens to the density of a beeswax candle.” Gamblin Artists Colors.

While Cate is working with oils, the medium will be interesting for acrylic, watercolor and mixed media painters!

Cold wax is not encaustic painting since there is no heat required to make the wax soft and workable. When mixed with oil paint, it gives colors a translucent, thick quality. Cold wax leaves a matte finish giving the painting a distinct look and making it easier to photograph and display. Due to the translucency of the wax, light is able to penetrate the paint film, giving colors a luminous quality.

Cate Salenger – “After painting mostly portraits for ten years, I wanted to try abstract and discovered the cold wax medium which looked like fun and lends itself to abstraction. I’m drawn to the idea that one can look at an abstract painting and see and experience different feelings each time you observe it. It’s freer and more open to interpretation because it’s rarely representational. I’ve read that abstracts allow the brain to develop new pathways. I’m fascinated by the writings of neuroscientist Eric R. Kandell who has studied the affects of abstraction in art on the brain. If only my brain would get it! I still feel like a beginner in abstraction. All I know is I feel less stressed when I’m painting. Mostly, I have no idea where I’m going. The challenge is knowing when it’s time to stop!”

JOIN US Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at 7 pm, at the RAA Gallery downtown, 215 E. State Street, Redlands.