To make my medium, I start with pure beeswax, which you can see here: white blocks, center left and dark blocks, center right. The darker blocks are less filtered...basically, straight from the hive. In the foreground, you see the medium I have created by mixing the beeswax with tree resin. This same medium is in the cold skillet in back. When this medium is hot, it turns clear...of course, if I start with a yellower wax, my medium will be less clear. Sometimes that's good, depending on what I have in mind for my painting.



Now I add color! I take the HOT clear medium and squeeze oil paint into it, a little or a lot, until I achieve the degree of translucency or opacity I'm looking for. I do my mixing in little foil loaf pans, on a hot pancake griddle. All-natural brushes are a necessity; plastic bristles will melt at the 220-225 degree heat.







Hot medium and my trusty heat gun.



Storing cold paints is easy. Just stack 'em up! Plus, no need to clean brushes. Just remelt and reuse. Got a spill? Scrape it up! Wax is awesome.



Here's a box of texture-making materials I use: old cookie cutters, lace, twine, tree bark, ribbon, leather, aspic cutters, wires and more.



More studio necessities, including my torch, wire brushes and a big ol' box of razor blades.

And finally, a little reminder from Andy: