The Late Bloomer

Encaustic with image transfer, accretion and amber shellac burn

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.