Encaustic

What is Encaustic?

Encaustic art is a painting technique where colour pigments are mixed with the melted beeswax medium and applied to a surface, I like to use wood. Layers are fused using a variety of heat tools, e.g. blow torch, iron, heat gun. 

A Short History of Encaustic

Encaustic painting is an ancient technique dating back to the Greeks who used wax to caulk ship hulls. Pigmenting the wax gave rise to the decorating of warships. Encaustic was a slow, difficult technique, but the paint could be built up in relief and the wax gave a rich optical effect to the pigment. These characteristics made the finished work startlingly life-like. Moreover, encaustic had far greater durability than tempera, which was vulnerable to moisture. Perhaps the best known of all encaustic work are the Fayum funeral portraits painted in the 1st-3rd centuries A.D. by Greek painters in Egypt and can be seen in Excellent condition to this day.