color variation in wax medium

Left: new bag of RF Encaustic Medium     Right: original batch of same medium

I'm in the beginning of frenzy mode for my next solo show, so even the smallest of disruptions to my work plan can be irritating.

The current culprit for my diminished comfort is a new batch of R&F pellet medium that I recently received from the Dick Blick online store.

This is the first time I've noticed a significant shift in color quality. The bag on the left is the new batch. It may be difficult to see in the photo, but the pellets are remarkably yellower than the original bag on the right.

I called R&F to see if they changed their mix, or wax, or methods. They had not, and the nice customer service person I spoke with said that since the wax is an organic substance, there will be variation in pigmentation of the medium. She suggested that placing the wax pellets in sunlight will bleach them to my desired level.

This is surprising news to me, because I always thought that wax was impervious to UV. In the spirit of experimentation, I've proceeded with the test. After 5-days, still no perceptible change. I'll keep trying until I run out of wax and need to use the pellets to finish the show.

The yellow wax is especially confounding because I believe that the clearer the medium, the less it effects the color of my base image. My newest work has a lot of cool white background areas. The yellowing of the background caused by the medium will require more layering of transparent white to bring it up to a level I like.

It's simply a matter of more hours in the studio. Good thing I like my job.