The Canadian Encaustic Conference Hot Palette Setup
Many of you have been asking about the encaustic hot palettes we use for the Canadian Encaustic Conference. In this post, I’ll explain what we used and why we chose this approach.
When planning the conference, we needed an affordable and reliable hot palette for multiple workstations. Power consumption was a major consideration. While pancake griddles work well for melting tins of encaustic, a room full of griddles can place a significant demand on the electrical system.
Purchasing two dozen commercially available encaustic hot palettes wasn’t in the budget, so we turned to warming trays paired with anodized aluminum plates. The combination worked extremely well for both painting and printmaking classes and demonstrations, providing artists with a large, heated surface for mixing colours, keeping encaustic medium workable, and supporting a variety of encaustic techniques.
What is an Encaustic Hot Palette?
An encaustic hot palette is a heated surface used to keep tins of encaustic medium and paint molten while working. Artists can mix colours directly on the hot palette and keep brushes warm for encaustic painting. A hot palette can also serve as a surface for creating imagery for encaustic printmaking.
Our hot palettes consisted of:
- A warming tray as the heat source
- A 16″ × 20″ anodized aluminum plate placed on top.
Advantages of Using a Warming Tray as an Encaustic Hot Palette
1. Lower Power Consumption
Many artists use electric pancake griddles as hot palettes for encaustic. While effective, a typical pancake griddle draws between 1,200–1,800 watts of power. Multiply that by a room full of artists and the electrical demand quickly becomes significant.
By comparison, the warming trays we used draw about 400 watts. For the Canadian Encaustic Conference, this lower power requirement allowed us to run numerous workstations simultaneously without overloading circuits or worrying about tripped breakers. It made the logistics of teaching large encaustic classes much more manageable.
For artists teaching workshops, hosting retreats, or working in shared studio spaces, lower power consumption can be a major advantage.
2. Affordable
A warming tray paired with an anodized aluminum plate is considerably less expensive than purchasing a dedicated encaustic hot palette.
For artists setting up a home studio or instructors outfitting multiple workstations, the savings can be substantial.
3. Large Working Surface
The anodized aluminum plate provides a generous 20″ x 16″ working surface for mixing colours and creating custom wax blends.
The smooth surface is easy to clean and offers plenty of room for brushes, colour mixing, and pots of encaustic medium.
4. Suitable for Encaustic Painting and Printmaking
One of the things we appreciated most about this setup was its versatility for:
- Melting and mixing encaustic paints directly on the plate
- Keeping pots of medium molten
- Keeping brushes warm
- Encaustic monotype printmaking
The setup worked equally well for both encaustic painting and printmaking.
Encaustic Hot Palette FAQs
1. How Even Is the Temperature?
This is probably the most common question.
The temperature is not perfectly even and may vary widely from one warming tray to another. However, the anodized aluminum plate helps distribute heat across the surface and significantly reduces temperature variations. We use infrared thermometers to regularly check the temperature across the palette and ensure it remains within a safe working range.
In practice, we found the temperature consistency to be acceptable for both painting and printmaking.
2. How Do I Prevent the Plate from Sliding?
Another question that keeps coming up is how to keep the anodized aluminum plate from sliding on the surface of the warming tray.
We place a couple of sheets of blue shop towel between the glass surface and the underside of the plate. The shop towel provides enough grip to reduce movement while still allowing heat to transfer effectively.
3. Which Warming Tray Should I Buy?
For the conference, we used Chefman warming trays, which have tempered glass tops. Although glass can theoretically break, we have not experienced any issues. Since then, we’ve learned that the Magic Mill warming tray features an enamel-coated top rather than glass. If I were purchasing warming trays today, I would likely choose the Magic Mill simply to eliminate the risk of breaking the glass surface.
I also tried a Salton warming tray. While it worked for printmaking, it didn’t get hot enough to melt tins of encaustic medium.
How the Setup Performed at the Canadian Encaustic Conference
The warming tray and anodized aluminum plate system was used successfully throughout the conference in both painting and printmaking classes and demonstrations. Instructors and workshop attendees mixed colours, melted wax, and created encaustic monotypes on the same palettes. We operated many stations simultaneously, and we experienced no power issues and no equipment failures. For us, the setup struck an excellent balance between performance, cost, and practicality.
Get this Setup for Yourself
Use my affiliate links to buy a 21″ x 16″ warming tray on Amazon:
Anodized Aluminum Plate:
Upwards Art Studio is currently taking pre-orders for anodized aluminum plates for pickup at this year’s Canadian Encaustic Conference in September. Please note that shipping is not available. Pre-ordered plates must be picked up.
What do you think?
If you’re looking for an affordable encaustic hot palette, a warming tray paired with an anodized aluminum plate is well worth considering. While it doesn’t provide the perfectly even heat of some dedicated encaustic hot palettes, it offers excellent functionality at a fraction of the cost. It uses relatively little electricity, provides ample mixing space, and has proven itself in both classroom and studio settings. For many artists, it may be all the hot palette they need.
Join us for the 2nd Annual Canadian Encaustic Conference this September and pick up your pre-ordered anodized aluminum plate from Upwards Art in the Vendor Room.
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