Encaustic figure3.

Encaustic wax is a historical painting technique where the wax is heated up and painted with. Encaustic paint is a combination of beeswax, pigment and a small amount of hardener (either dammar resin or carnauba wax).

The paint is solid at room temperature so you need to melt it before it can be applied. Once on the support, it cools and hardens, and a heat tool is used to ensure that each layer is fused to the last. A very tactile working experience.

Encaustic painting was practiced by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B.C. Most of our knowledge of this early use comes from the Roman historian Pliny the Elder whose Natural History, written in the 1st century A.D., was a monumental encyclopedia of art and science.