I use a basic recipe: 500 grams of bleached/filtered bee’s wax, 80 grams of dammar resin, and 10 or 15 grams of carnauba wax (optional). The resin and carnauba wax raise the melting point of the wax, creating a harder surface. Bleached bee’s wax is optional but is less yellow and mixes better with pigments. These ingredients are cooked together in an old crock pot or pan over medium heated until the resin is dissolved. This should never be heated to the point where it releases smoke. After the paint is heated, it is poured through a sieve lined with layers of cheesecloth to eliminate the plant debris from the resin. This is the basic medium that is mixed with dry pigments or tubed oil pigments and kept warm or in a liquid state. Acrylic paints are not compatible with encaustic medium. Also, encaustic paintings must be done on a rigid panel or they will crack. Never use this method on an acrylic, gesso surface as the paint will not adhere properly. Finally, only use bristle brushes as nylon brushes will melt. This medium dries instantly and you will get only one or two brush strokes before it sets up. After applying a layer of paint, the panel must be heat fused with a heat gun, propane torch (my favorite), or an iron before the next layer is applied in order for the paint to fuse properly. An excellent book on this technique is “The Art of Encaustic Painting” by Joanne Mattera. A great source for pigments is www.sinopia.com. Another good source for pigments are road cuts, desert areas (the SW) and places that have experienced a lot of volcanic activity. I’ve collected over 45 pigments from Oregon roadcuts and places around Moab, UT and Sedona AZ. These need to be further ground with a glass muller. I think this is a story for another time. To preview my encaustic paintings, click on this “encaustic paintings” link
Encaustic Technique
