WAX PAPER AS A TOOL
Early in my career as a painter I realized that the quality of the canvas surface dictates the ease of applying paint and the final results of the painting. With canvas, which I prefer over linen, the quality of materials has increased over the years and it is possible to buy ready-stretched and pre-sized canvas. But for me, that is just the start.
RE-SURFACING
I like to re-surface the canvas by brushing it with a mixture of two cups of regular white acrylic paint combined with a cup of matte medium and a cup of water. Then I tear off several strips of wax paper, lay them down on the canvas one at a time and smooth them with my hands. I lift each one and toss it out, and repeat the process until I have a smooth surface that shows no brush strokes. After the paint is thoroughly dry, I repeat the process once more.
A PERFECT DRAWING SURFACE
The white paint mixed with matte medium gives me the perfect surface for the preliminary pencil drawing and also the basis for the first application of transparent acrylic paint. The white shows through and glows through the color, giving it that extra vibrancy.
WAX PAPER FOR APPLYING PAINT
When a painting is nearly finished and I need some subtle dots of color in some areas I will brush a watered down acrylic paint on a sheet of wax paper, wait until the paint forms beads, lay a small piece of the paper down to pick up the beads and transfer them to the surface of the painting. This is much more effective than flinging the paint since it goes exactly where it is needed.
WAX PAPER USED TO CREATE TEXTURE
I sometimes use strips of wax paper laid on a wet acrylic surface and removed after the paint is dry to create a random pattern to the canvas. This is most effective for seascapes since some of the textured patterns simulate the look of water after a wave has washed onto the beach. In this case, it is important to keep the lengths of the wax paper horizontal because it is the long grain of the paper that creates the pattern.
