10 best things about Encaustic wax medium
Image from Wikipedia
Mummy portrait of a young woman, 3rd century, Louvre , Paris . Image from Wikipedia
What is encaustic, you may ask? In simplest terms; it is a mixture of beeswax and pigment that is combined and heated to fuse the pigmented wax to a rigid, inflexible surface. The word encaustic originates from the Greek word enkaustikos which means to burn-in.
In the oldest representation of paintings created with encaustic, pigment and beeswax were added to wooden boards that were found attached to upper-class mummies to create funerary portraits. The most famous example of these portraits were the Fayum funerary portraits most commonly found in the Faiyum region in Egypt. These beautiful portraits were created around the first century AD. These stunning portraits are located in museums and collections throughout the world.
In the modern world, encaustic was rediscovered and began to be integrated by artists in the early 1900s. The technique of wax painting gained some traction and evolved slowly with the technological advancements that allowed more straightforward and safer practices for heating and ventilation.
As early as the 1960s, encaustic began to see a full-blown resurgence as an acceptable and stable medium. As heating tools were more accessible and more affordable, the medium has only gained popularity and is now considered to be nearly as available as acrylic and oil.
Modern encaustic medium has evolved since the early days of the craft. Modern encaustic medium is a combination of Refined Beeswax and Damar Resin. The damar resin allows the wax to be more stable. It makes the beeswax harder than beeswax alone. It raises the melting temperature. The addition of damar resin also allows for the wax to be polished.
I was first introduced to wax by an online class. It was love at first sight. Encaustic was everything a mixed media collage artist could dream of. I love to share my love of this phenomenal medium, in light of that, I created the following list to tell you about my top 10 reasons why you might love this medium also!
10 BEST THINGS ABOUT ENCAUSTIC WAX MEDIUM
BEESWAXI love that the encaustic is a sensory experience, the smell, the sight and the touch. Have you have ever experienced walking into an encaustic studio? That first breath and inhaling the scent of beeswax, then you will understand why this is one of my favourite aspects of encaustic. The smell is fantastic. The sight of the wax, it has a luminous translucency which is indescribable. Then you feel the finished works. The silky texture of the encaustic wax is so unbelievable. You must experience it as it is all-encompassing. I absolutely LOVE it.
THE TRANSLUCENCYWax has this ability to show a portion of the underlying layers. When you use a thin coating of the medium, you can partially obscure and partially reveal the underlying content, and it is a tool you can use to create depth in your works. Whether they are representative or abstract.
HEAVILY PIGMENTED, LOVELY COLOURS I use the medium and pigments from R&F and Enkaustikos. I find that their pigmented wax has a beautiful range of pigment colours. The product is always consistent. I really love that about these two companies. I mix the pigments with medium to increase the transparency when I need it.
EMBED OBJECTSIt is possible to fully encase many objects in the wax. I have personally covered wooden letters and flowers in the wax.
USE THIN ON PAPER OF THICK ON SOLID SURFACESWax is traditionally used by applying thin fused layers on thick, solid absorbent surfaces, like cradled wood panels. One of my personal favourites is to break the rules. I love using the wax in thin layers on rice, Kozo or mulberry papers. The papers are strong, and when the wax is applied very thinly, it stays attached and intact as long as the rice papers are not bent or folded. The result can be stunning. The translucency gained with this technique is lovely.
MIX WITH OILSBeeswax and or wax medium plays very well with oil paints. It is possible to use the oil paint as a pigmenting agent in replacement of buying pigmented encaustic. This gives you a full range of pigments form many oil manufactures that can be added into your work in a variety of methods including mixing on the hot palette, stamping stencilling and rubbing into the texture of the work. It is a versatile addition to an encaustic repertoire.
MIXED MEDIA Wax is an absolute GENIUS addition to a mixed media artist. It plays so well with oil pastels, pan pastels and other many other media. You can add graphite with carbon paper, add image transfers, embed papers and objects, stamp stencil and etch into the wax. There are so many options. It is a fantastic medium.
TEXTURAL OR SMOOTHBeeswax can be both smooth like glass and rough like terrain. With practice, you can dry brush the wax into mounds and sharp sculptural shapes. Also, you can polish it with an iron, so the surface is smooth like glass.
SEMIGLOSS SURFACE Beeswax has a surface that is satiny and silky to the touch. When rubbed with a soft cotton cloth, it can be burnished to a semi-glossy sheen. With time the wax builds up a coating. To restore the glossy look, you need only gently polish the wax again.
EMBRACE THE ART OF LETTING GO Wax can be unpredictable. With practice, you can acquire the skill of anticipating what the reaction of the wax will be, but as a beginner, things can change rapidly from what you expect to the unexpected. Sometimes this leads to frustration, but it can lead to happy accidents. The learning curve can be frustrating but it is worth hanging in there to learn. It is an excellent medium to embrace the art of letting go.
And there you have it! Only 10 of the reasons this medium is worth a try. Encaustic may sound intimidating due to the supplies and setup you will need. the most important things you need are heat source and safety protocols ventilation and fire extinguisher. Don’t let this scare you away. This medium is worth every precaution. It will suck you in and inspire you to create work unlike any other you have created.
Note that the heat source area with the hot palette & heat tools is on the right side of the studio and the flammable items including papers and collage items are on the left to keep them separate and prevent ignition of any flammables. Fans are going for good ventilation.
There you go! If you need any assistance of course I am here for you with workshops and private lessons. I will write another post on fire safety for encaustics at a later date and of course there are many safety articles online.
This is a fantastic medium and I hope you give it a try soon!
