Encaustics

Beeswax, mixed with damar resin, is a painting process that dates back 2500 years and has undergone a resurgence in popularity in recent years. The sensory pleasures of working with beeswax are delightful; the warm beeswax creates a scent that is captivating, and the cool smooth touch of the cured painting invites the fingers to play across the surface.

Encaustic paintings are creating by adding many layers of wax, pigmented wax, and assorted other materials. Each added layer must be fused to the previous layer using a small torch or heat gun. The hot wax created during the fusing process is unpredictable and sometimes difficult to control, resulting in artworks that are all unique in their finished state. The slight imperfections in the surface of a painting are part of its charm. It is utterly impossible to create two exact pieces of encaustic art.

I began working in encaustics as a way to meld my love of found objects and old photos into a mixed media art form. The beeswax adds a depth and luminosity that cannot be achieved through traditional photography alone…clouding the image slightly to evoke a dreamlike quality. The wax is very accepting of a wide variety of different mediums and creates endless possibilities for collaged mixed-media pieces.