Pearls Forming in the Matrix

Encaustic (beeswax with damar resin). Inspired by my love of nature and texture. This exquisite little artwork is reminiscent of pearls embedded into a mass of rock.

Encaustic is an ancient painting technique dating back to the ancient Greeks, best known in the Fayum Mummy Portraits in the 1st through 3rd centuries AD. The 20th century has seen a rebirth of encaustic on a major scale, particularly in the US, but also more recently in Australia.

Encaustic is a Greek word meaning "to heat or burn in" (enkausticos). Heat is used throughout the process from melting the beeswax and varnish to fusing the layers of wax with a heat gun or torch. It consists of natural bees wax and dammar resin (crystallised tree sap). Pigments may be added to the media, or it can be applied in a natural colourless state. The medium is melted and applied with a brush or tool, and each layer is then reheated to fuse it to the previous layer.

CARE OF ENCAUSTIC PAINTINGS

This painting is completed using beeswax, image transfer, and shellac and should not be exposed to direct sunlight or other heat sources which may damage the wax surface. It should also NOT be left in a car on a hot day. The surface can be gently “polished” from time to time to restore the sheen to the surface using soft material like an old T Shirt or stocking.

BRIEF HISTORY OF ENCAUSTIC PAINTING
Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which damar resin and pigments are added to produce the colours. Encaustic painting is one of the oldest art forms. The earliest applications of encaustic wax paint was done by the artists of Ancient Greece. The word encaustic originates from the Greek work enkaustikos, which means to burn in, and this process is necessary for a painting to be called encaustic.

The Egyptians began to adapt to the use of wax paint. This technique was used in the Fayum mummy portraits in Egypt around 100-300 AD. The oldest surviving encaustic panel paintings are the Romano-Egyptian Fayum mummy portraits from the 1st Century BC. Despite being over 2000 years old, they are still on display in museums today withstanding the test of time with minimal cracking and without having faded or darkened in colour.