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5 tips for Making Peace with Air Bubbles in Encaustic Art

5 Tips for Making Peace with Air Bubbles in Encaustic Art

When fusing, air bubbles from the substrate rise up through the wax and cause tiny pinholes on the surface of the encaustic painting. Air bubbles are a common challenge, but they don’t have to be a source of frustration. Achieving a smooth encaustic surface is a skill every encaustic artist wants to develop but, embracing those tiny pin-prick air bubble holes can unlock new creative possibilities. By shifting your perspective, these so-called imperfections can become an accepted part of your process.  

Here are five tips to make peace with surface holes on your encaustic painting:

  1. Emphasize Them
    Rather than viewing air bubbles as flaws, highlight them as if they were intentional. Use a pigment stick or oil paint in a contrasting colour and, with a gloved hand, fill the holes. After wiping away the excess with a paper towel, gently fuse the area with heat. This will emphasize the bubble holes adding a new dimension of texture and contrast to your piece. (Buy Nitrile Gloves | Buy R&F Pigment Sticks)
  2. Play Connect the Dots
    Use an incising tool to draw lines between the bubble holes to form a pattern. You can leave the incised lines as they are for a subtle effect or fill them with contrasting pigment stick or wax. This is a creative way to turn an imperfection into a desirable element.
  3. Embrace Texture
    One of the joys of encaustic painting is the freedom to play with texture. Instead of aiming for a perfectly smooth surface, let the air bubbles enhance the tactile quality of your work. Build upon the bubbly areas by adding deliberate texture with the accretion technique on the surface.
  4. Change Your View
    Remember to stop and stand your painting up vertically. From this new perspective, the bubble-holes may not be as noticeable as you thought they were, they may not need fixing.
  5. Let Them Be
    Leave them as they are rather than trying to hide or fix every air bubble. A few pin-prick holes are part and parcel of the unpredictable nature of this beautiful medium.

These images are detail shots from some of my most recent paintings. You can view the full images on my website.

A Creative Opportunity

By viewing air bubbles as opportunities rather than flaws to fight against, you can create encaustic artwork that is both rich in texture and full of character. And the idea of simply accepting some bubbles as part of the encaustic process can be liberating.

Tell me in the comments: Have you made peace with air holes in your encaustic paintings?

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