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Encaustic Painting Revealed: Is It Difficult for Beginners to Learn?
- Sutithi
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Did you know the famous Romano-Egyptian Fayum mummies have encaustic art attached to their funeral portraits or that Greeks used wax-mixed pigments to paint ship vessels long ago? Yes, beeswax used in the paintings can resist moisture and thus helps the painted surfaces retain their authentic color and aura.
If you are new to the concept of hot wax painting and wondering how to get started with the encaustic medium for your next collage or mixed media art, this is where you must begin.
It is one of the world’s oldest painting techniques used in ancient Greece and Egypt to make paintings durable and sturdy enough to survive the passage of time.
Let’s find out what encaustic painting is all about and how you can make this artistic medium work wonders for you! After you read through the blog, you’ll get to know how the process suits your requirements.
Encaustic Painting Secrets: What Makes the Medium Unique
The word encaustic is derived from a Greek word that literally means to ‘burn in.’ As the process fuses heated molten wax and pigment into an artwork, it is also known as hot wax painting.
Heated beeswax is mixed with pigments to give them a rigid and textured feel. Usually, these molten wax-mixed pigments are applied to wooden surfaces called substrates. Painting with molten waxes on stretched canvases is not recommended as it can damage the surface. Canvases or linens can be fixed to rigid supports so that artists can apply the medium conveniently.
Though different kinds of encaustic waxes can be mixed with pigments, beeswax mixed with damar resin is the toughest one to create the perfect encaustic medium. Damar resin is a natural tree sap, chiefly procured from East Asia and South America.
How do an Artist Explore Encaustic Medium?
An artist works with molten wax mixed with pigments to the painting surface and then uses heat to fuse the layers of wax together. This is usually done by a hot iron, a heat gun, a blow torch, and other tools.
Artists can shape the wax by carving, adding unique textures with tools, or even embedding small objects or collage materials within the layers. The wax can look solid or transparent, depending how the artists desire them to be. Encaustic medium is preferred for its moisture-resistance and durability factor.
Historical Significance behind Encaustic Beeswax Painting
Encaustic art was used in Egyptian burial portraits, surviving for more than fifteen centuries. The reason behind the endurance of these portraits is the absence of light inside the burial chamber. Consistent temperature and humidity helped the mummy portraits on wooden boards stay intact over time.
Greeks who settled in Egypt adapted encaustic painting techniques used in the entombment process.
Roman historian Pliny the Elder wrote in his book ‘Naturalis Historia’ of encaustic paints used in ship vessels in the first century AD, to protect them from heat, wind, and salt water.
In modern art, this technique was embraced by Latin American art diva and muralist Diego Rivera in one of his commissioned mural projects, ‘Creation.’
Is Encaustic Painting Difficult?
The encaustic beeswax painting dates back to antiquity, but there’s a chance of scraping surfaces too hard with wax or making the wax too soft to deal with. But the technique is also resilient and needs a lot of practice.
This versatile process adds more depth to the artworks, enabling layers, carving, and even sculptural effects. What makes these paintings unique is the depth, durability, and organic quality.
How Do You Prepare Encaustic Wax?
Artists can prepare their own encaustic wax in their studios, though pre-made waxes are commercially available.
The damar resin crystals are mixed with beeswax in a pancake griddle or silicone utensils until they get their gooey, crystal-clear structure. You can get started by dipping your brushes into the newly-made wax and applying it to the surface to create several layers.
What are the Three Ingredients to Encaustic Paint?
Before you start with encaustic painting, you must procure the three basic ingredients and mix them to create the base paint. The three ingredients are:
1) natural beeswax that looks yellowish, or filtered beeswax with a bleached white look,
2) pigments for the painting,
3) damar resin crystals, the natural tree sap agents to make the wax harder.
What is the Binding Agent in Encaustic Painting?
Natural beeswax works as a binder in an encaustic painting. It works like a binding agent to hold the pigments together. You can also add damar resin crystals to make the medium stronger, but it is the wax that binds pigments to the substrate or the surface.
What is the Most Famous Encaustic Painting?
There are several encaustic art pieces that are celebrated in the history of art, but the most famous encaustic painting is the Fayum mummy portraits on wooden panels, created more than 3000 years ago. It vouches for the timelessness of the medium, creating such realistic and textured portraits worthy of attention.
Another famous example of encaustic painting in contemporary art is American flag painting by Jasper Jones. The groundbreaking flag art pieces inspired future Neo-Pop movements. His wax-based painting technique revealed rich and complex textures, mixing hot waxes with pigments and newspaper collages.
Beginners Can Start with the Encaustic Art Medium with a Bang!
If you are looking for a new medium to try out for your next artwork, encaustic painting techniques can be one of the smartest things to explore. This way, you can create more layered, textured, and luminous effects to retain the depth of your composition.
Though you can custom-create your encaustic wax or paints, it is better to use pre-made ones for health reasons and consistency of ingredients. Commercially-made waxes include the best-quality pigments and you can be sure of a balanced proportion of damar and wax in those pre-made ones. Hence, the colors are pure and you get the optimum hardness you require in the paint, along with excellent luminosity that makes these creations stand out.
With new tools and techniques, the art medium is experiencing an artistic makeover. Whether you are a beginner or a pro, embrace encaustic art, an ancient art form, to add more meaning to your craft, pushing creative boundaries aside. Try your hand now!
