How Did I Get to This Point?
I’m talking encaustic painting here. Most of you reading this would probably not question how to produce a watercolor or oil painting. If you are already a painter working in encaustics, this may not be for you. But for those of you who aren’t totally sure, here goes!
I start by preparing my panels, generally wood, and taping the edges and back of the panel to keep these areas clean. Then, three coats of encaustic gesso, a thick white priming layer that wax adheres to well.
Once the panel has dried, I need to start laying down encaustic medium, which I buy in pellet form — a mixture of pure beeswax and damar resin, a natural byproduct of tree sap. I need to melt the medium to about 180 degrees F on my heated palette (see next photo), and also heat my prepared panel so the wax will lay smoothly.
I need to work quickly, as the wax begins to cool and harden the minute it leaves the heat source. Each artist has their own preference, but I like to start with at least six layers of medium.
Let the fun begin! After all this prep, I can now start layering paint. What does the paint look like? When purchased it comes in various forms (see below). It’s a mixture of pure pigments and a wax binder.
I then melt what I need and start applying this paint in layers. Many, many layers in my case! In between each layer of paint and medium, I fuse with heat — in my case a blow torch, but a heat gun also works. In this photo below, you see the start of color and also a better view of my heated palette. It’s made of an anodized aluminum top and a heat source below.
A lot of scraping of the layers ensues, some drawing, possibly collage, but all that is for another newsletter. But here was what I produced while working on this blog post. ⬇️
In other news, I will be delivering this piece below to the 68th Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition at Rochester Memorial Art Gallery this week. ⬇️ The show runs from April 21 through August 6, and I was very pleased to be included in the show this year!
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments; I do love hearing from you!