“When I’m painting, I’m in a state of discovery, and it’s always an adventure,” says Eureka abstract artist Aminah Herrman, who creates her artwork using cold wax and oil. “I’m constantly experimenting.”
Cold wax is an oil painting medium made of beeswax mixed with a small amount of solvent and resin, forming a buttery soft paste, which is then combined with oil paint on the palette. Unlike traditional glossy oil paints, it dries to a soft, candle-like, velvety matte finish, adding transparency, luminosity and depth to the oil paint. When mixed 50/50 with oil, it doubles the volume of paint.
Hermann paints in layers, letting one translucent layer set before she applies another. Then, using a chopstick or a tool with a metal point, she’ll draw, stencil details or press shapes into the surface, carve, scratch, scrape, add gold leaf or apply solvents to reveal earlier layers of color. “Because the consistency is like frosting, the surface can be shaped and manipulated in all kinds of interesting ways,” she says.
Credit: Photo by Louisa Rogers
When the paint begins to dry, Herrman rolls a tool called a brayer over the entire surface of the painting to fuse all the layers together. After the surface is completely dry, which can take up to a month, she applies two separate layers of clear cold wax, using a buffer to create a smooth surface with a subtle sheen.
Herrman first lived in Humboldt County 40 years ago, returning in 2021 to be near her son and grandchildren. Since she wasn’t able to find studio space in Eureka, she shares a studio in Sunnybrae. It’s not an ideal arrangement, but it works out as a spot between home and her family in McKinleyville.
Herrman didn’t start her art career with cold wax. In her 30s, she taught art to preschoolers and had a business with her late husband designing and painting folk art and furniture, inspired by the rich, vibrant colors of southwestern Texas. That work led to a national contract designing a line of large decorative scenes for KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut franchises. In a later era, she worked as the curator for an art gallery that focused on spiritual artwork. Among the featured guest artists was the artist Lydia Corbett, also known as Sylvette David, a model for Picasso during the early 1950’s. Corbett, now in her 90s, remains a close friend.
Credit: Photo by Louisa Rogers
Credit: Courtesy of the artist
Herrman’s subject matter focuses largely on human relationships, spirituality and the natural world, which she says suits her return to Humboldt. She finds the local landscapes flooded with rich color and light, and our rolling hills, mountains, fields and oceans sources of inspiration. She loves to paint trees and birds in plein air at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Headwaters Forest Reserve at Elk River and the Arcata Marsh. She also participates in Humboldt’s Sunday PaintOut, where local artists gather at different locations to paint outside.
“It’s a bit discordant,” Herrman says, chuckling. “I love painting nature but not necessarily the colors we associate with nature. I’m more drawn to the vibrant, playful colors of San Antonio, where I used to live.”
She also aims to express spirituality and reverence through her artwork. “I don’t believe you can separate the intent and spirit of a person from their art,” she says. “I usually paint intuitively, but sometimes I have an inner vision that I’m compelled to paint, and it may take time to work out with sketching and color studies. I spend some quiet meditative moments before I begin.”
One of the challenges she finds as an artist in Humboldt is the lack of sufficient studio space and places to show art. She wants to find a permanent space for her art, with the long-term goal of buying a warehouse that she’d remodel to provide affordable studios to artists.
Herrman never tires of exploring what she calls the “playground” of colors, shapes and textures inherent in cold wax and oil. “It’s a process of curiosity and experimentation every time I paint, and one that continually inspires me,” she says. “I intend to keep exploring this medium to see what can be revealed through its endless possibilities.”
Aminah Herrman’s work is on Instagram @aminahherrman and her paintings will be on display at Ramone’s Bakery & Café (2297 Harrison Ave., Eureka) through Oct. 25.
Louisa Rogers (she/her) is a writer, painter and paddleboarder who lives in Eureka and Guanajuato, Mexico.
This article appears in Xine:wh-ding.