Jazz Baby Finished

I just finished applying the beeswax to my painting and I LOVE the effect! It adds a dreamy, gauzy look to the piece and definitely gives it more depth. I admit I was afraid to work with the wax, thinking it would mess up all the hard work but I'll definitely be using it in more of my art. If you click on each photo, you'll get a better look at the texture.

In Suzi's technique you don't need a small crock pot to melt your wax in. You just take the bar of wax and a small quilting iron, hold the iron to the wax right over where you want to drip it, and then smooth the drips out with the iron. That way, you control where the wax goes and how much of it you want to add. So easy!

I especially like how it made her face look so soft and dreamy. Beautiful effect. That was one benefit of really applying a thick coat of colored pencils. That wax base blended perfectly with the hot wax when added! Here is another view that shows more of the texture and detail with the wax:

Just for comparison, I put up this "before" photo that I posted yesterday. If you compare the two, you'll be able to see the difference. So fun!

Now I'm gearing up to do more of these with some faces I've got prepared. I'm also looking forward to Suzi's new class called, "The Goddess and the Poet" which starts July 15. This class teaches more lifelike portrait drawing. We will add a little poetry to the mix and see what happens. Stay tuned...