Photo Encaustic Techniques

Encaustic and Photography for artists

There are three primary photo encaustic methods used for incorporating photography with encaustic.

Photo Encaustic: In photo encaustic, photos are printed on paper and then the paper is secured to a substrate creating a paper ground. The artist will work with encaustic on top of the photo.
Photo Transfer: The photo transfer can be a full-size image or it can be a small element added to the composition. The image is digitally reversed before printing. The printed image is burnished onto a smooth wax surface, a process that transfers the ink of the image to the wax. The artist will continue to work with encaustic on top of the transfer.
Photo Collage: In encaustic photo collage an artist will employ a variety of papers and methods to incorporate photographic images with encaustic.

Learn more about photo encaustic techniques with Encaustic in these artist tutorials

Photo Encaustic Tutorial | Painting photographs with wax

Encaustic Photography Tutorial | Painting Photographs

Painting photographs with encaustic opens up another whole world of possibilities! Photographers can take their art to a new level adding more interest and texture to their pictures. "Photographers are increasingly discovering the potential of combining photography and wax. Given the importance of light in photography, it seems a natural marriage, since wax refracts light in unique ways and can add an otherworldly quality to photographs." Lissa Rankin ENCAUSTIC ART The Complete Guide to Creating Fine Art with Wax I've read about photo encaustic and I understood the process, but I hadn't tried it before. This past weekend ...
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Choosing and preparing substrates for encaustic art

How to Prepare Substrates for Encaustic … for photo encaustic and more

The topic of substrates and how to prepare them for encaustic art is often confusing for beginners. Choosing a substrate for Encaustic art When choosing a substrate, make sure it is of a porous material—usually a wood panel. Most beginning photo encaustic artists choose any number of manufactured boards, either flat or cradled—it does not matter. Keep in mind that any hardboard (compressed wood particles) tends to hold heat a little longer and might slow down your process slightly. If you don’t want to worry about any of this just pick up some Encausticbord’s and start working ...
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Encaustic Technique: transferring ink from magazine pages

Hello, I 'm a creative artist living and working in Middle Tennessee. Since 2009 I have been working on a series of Encaustic paintings using a unique process of transferring ink from recycled magazine pages onto a thin layer of beeswax. I have a video on Youtube that shows me working and explaining each step, but I'll give you a quick explanation of how I work with wax. Here is the video if you'd rather not read the explanation: I build my panels and prepare the background using milk paint. Now I apply pure beeswax (no added resin) with a paint ...
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Experimenting with Photographs in Encaustic

Encaustic Photographs | Experimenting with Photos & Hot Wax

After attending an excellent presentation by Danielle Correia at last year's Encaustic Conference on working with encaustic on photographs, I have done some experimenting of my own. Here are the results of five different experiments with photographs in encaustic wax ...
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Encaustic Photo Transfer Method | A Step-by-Step Image Transfer Tutorial

I've taken five encaustic workshops with Andrea Bird and, in each class, there is always someone who hasn't learned this technique. Everyone has the same wonderful reaction as the paper comes away from the wax and the ink is left behind. Tips for successful encaustic photo transfer: use images with a high level of contrast ensure the images you're using are toner based - from a photocopy machine, a laser printer or a magazine. Ink jet printers won't give you good results for a complete transfer make sure the wax surface is smooth - a transfer over ...
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