Cold Wax and Charcoal Horse: Exploration

"Defender": Work In Progress, Horse in Charcoal, Soft Pastel and Dorland's Cold Wax medium on 20"x 20" wood panel

I've been longing to try encaustic art - the use of melted wax, damar resin and oil paint or dry pigment. Just haven't been able to swing it yet. Instead I've discovered cold wax. Cold wax is a combination of waxes, damar resin and odorless mineral spirits. Heat is not recommended for use with this product as it results in toxic fumes. But, it's terrific to use for many purposes similar to encaustic media and has some other properties, such as it's use as a varnish for many paints, photographs and dry media. It dries harder than encaustic media, lasts without yellowing apparently, and can be cleaned with water and a lint-free cloth then polished a little to return it's sheen.
You can learn so much more about it here: www.coldwaxpainting.com

I've been wanting to find a way to work with charcoal and dry pigments such as soft ("chalk") pastel that will result in a permanent piece that can handle being framed and on a wall without being too vulnerable. I've been imagining ways to use varnishes, acrylic glazes, encaustics and finally, cold wax. I've sprayed my charcoal drawings with sealant and varnish to good effect but when I learned about cold wax, the appeal of it's history, depth and process became a bit of an obsession.

Here's a charcoal and pastel drawing I've been creating in combination with layers of Dorland's cold wax, on raw wood panel. It's still a work in progress, but I'm thinking the results will be interesting and pleasing at least to my own eye. I'm certainly finding the process challenging and engaging.

It's at a resting stage - I want the initial layers of wax to set well before applying any further layers, as the wax, if tacky, will pull right off, taking with it all the pigment beneath.

I'll post an update in a few days I hope!
I hope you're enjoying my journey.