Disclosure: Kama Pigments sent me free encaustic paints to review for this post.
Commercially available encaustic paints
I usually make my own encaustic medium, I haven’t very often used ready-made encaustic paints. But, I must say, the highly-pigmented encaustic paints I received from Kama Pigments are luscious! I also love that Kama Pigments is a Canadian company. 🇨🇦 🙂
Made from natural beeswax, damar resin and dry pigments
When purchasing commercially available encaustic paints check what ingredients are being used, not all manufacturers use beeswax and damar resin. Kama’s encaustic paints are made from natural beeswax, damar resin and their own dry pigments.
Dry Pigments and Encaustic Paints
Inhalation of the dry pigments should be avoided. If making your own encaustic medium use oil paints, not dry pigments. Some dry pigments may be poisonous and repeated exposure can have serious effects on the artist’s health. Kama’s paints are made with dry pigments but the pigment is no longer dry so it will not pose health concerns to the artist.
Highly Pigmented Encaustic Paints
Ready-made encaustic paints are much more highly pigmented than what you can mix with oil paints. If you’re mixing oil paint into your own clear encaustic medium, do not add more than 25% paint to 75% medium or you will end up with a soft wax that won’t harden. As Kama encaustic paints are so highly pigmented I can break off a piece of their paints and add it to my own 5:1 ratio encaustic medium to make a rich pigmented paint that will go farther.
Encaustic Paint Sticks and Encaustic Paint Blocks
Kama encaustic paint sticks and blocks are ideal for encaustic printmaking and for use with an encaustic stylus.
The encaustic stylus has a built-in regulator so it is always at the right temperature for encaustic painting. I put the hot stylus nib against the block of paint to draw the wax up into the nib, I then apply the wax to the surface of my painting. No need to fuse further.
Kama Pigments has also created a unique line of Encaustic monotype sticks with a sharp point for drawing directly on the Roland HOTbox or on an anodized aluminum plate.
The blocks can also be used for encaustic mono printing to draw directly on the HOTbox. I like to use a whole end or side for making larger marks and just the corner for smaller mark making.
Oil Pigment Sticks and Encaustic Painting
Kama Pigments also manufactures oil pigment sticks. Oil sticks work well with encaustic, I particularly like to rub pigment stick into a textured area or drips on a painting, remove the excess with a paper towel and lightly fuse. The oil stick in the crevices and as a glaze over texture helps the area stand out. For more tips on using pigment sticks with encaustic read this post.
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Do you know or where i can find out if Kama uses a food grade resin in it’s encaustic
product, looking for safety issues. Thank you, Mariesii Becker
I suggest you reach out to their customer support – https://www.kamapigment.com/contacts/