Encaustic Wax Painting Blog

What is Encaustic Painting?

Encaustic is a waxed-based medium, that consists of beeswax and damar resin, a natural tree sap that acts as a hardening agent. The encaustic painting process involves heat at every stage of the process to apply and fuse the medium. The name Encaustic comes from the greek enkaustikos which means to burn in.

Here you’ll learn about encaustic painting techniques & tools. Whether you’re a beginner learning to paint with encaustic or an experienced artist, I invite you to add your comments to share your knowledge and inspiration about art and All Things Encaustic.

Encaustic Wax Painting Tips, Product Reviews, & Tutorials for Beginners and experienced artists alike

Encaustic Monotype Tools

Last week I had the privilege of attending an encaustic monotype and silkscreen workshop co-taught by Paula Roland and Jeff Hirst. It was so luxurious to have an entire week to experiment with encaustic monotypes and to watch and learn from Paula and Jeff. Thanks also to Paula for encouraging me to share these tips and tools on this blog. 10 Tools for Encaustic Monotype Printmaking 1. The Roland HOTbox The Roland HOTbox is the best tool for encaustic monotype printmaking. To use the Roland HOTbox pigmented wax is melted on the anodized aluminum plate. Using tools, the artist ...
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How to reuse encaustic scrapings

Scraping is part of the encaustic painting process but this can feel wasteful. What do you do with encaustic scrapings? Believe me I know that you don't want to throw away all the beautiful encaustic paint that you've applied and then scrapped off a panel. Here's how to ensure that that precious encaustic medium doesn't go to waste. 3 ways to reuse wax scrapings 1. Create a harmonizing colour: When you're working on a painting if you throw scrapings into a pot you can create a powerful neutral colour, a harmonizing colour that can help all of ...
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Testing Suitable Encaustic Grounds using the Freezer Test

When I want to know things I tend to go to the bottom and gather knowledge and experience from different sources. Then I try out the facts/statements in my own practice. For me it’s important to not just know how things work, but also why. So now I have painted with encaustic for some time and feel I have pretty much a good picture of the basics. In most areas, except one. A discussed topic with a lot of different opinions. I guess tradition is interfering with new approaches. Good old facts are challenged by new science ...
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Give yourself permission to play

When students come to an encaustic workshop with a pre-planned project and high expectations that they will be taking home a fabulous and finished work of art, they often don't give themselves permission to play and embrace the process of art-making. Commit to the process, detach from the outcome!! To help students commit to the process and detach from the outcome, I begin my workshops having students recite the Art-day vow. My Art-day vow Put your hand on your heart and repeat after me... I vow to welcome this day with open arms. I promise to let ...
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Selecting Japanese paper for Encaustic Monoprinting

Washi is the Japanese word for the traditional papers made from the long inner fibres of three plants, wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper. The term “rice paper” is really a misnomer, the paper has nothing to do with rice. The range of Japanese papers that The Japanese Paper Place ships around the world is vast. With so many Japanese papers to choose from, how do you to decide what’s best for encaustic monotype printmaking? What to look for when selecting Washi for Encaustic Monoprinting What you will look for in a Japanese paper depends on ...
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How to make an Art Retreat or Workshop great!

Last weekend I had a fabulous art experience. I attended a mixed media encaustic retreat with Christina Lovisa. Christina rented a private lodge at a Spa in Chelsea, Quebec close to Ottawa, Ontario. It was a wonderful way to start the New Year! I have taken a number of mixed media art workshops with Christina in the past and each one has pushed my creativity in new ways. The reTREAT Experience When you're hosting workshops or retreats, consider incorporating some of these things that Christina did to make participants feel spoiled and special. An Assistant! Christina hired ...
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Essential Tools for Scraping & Incising into encaustic wax

Clay tools work well for scraping, incising, and gouging into encaustic wax. This post has been in draft for awhile, I was finally spurred on to finish it when this week someone on Facebook asked, “What’s the most used tool you recommend investing in? I am new to this and wondering what type sculpting tools to get”. My Favourite Go-To Tools Here are a few of my favourite tools for scraping and incising into the wax. 1. Dual head metal pottery scraping tool My go-to scrapper is one from a pottery course I took years ago. The ...
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