ENCAUSTICS…HOT off the GRIDDLE!!

What is that?

3000 years ago the Greek used beeswax to seal hulls of ships.  By adding color or pigment and resin to strengthen it, they created a new way of painting.  This type of painting has a quality of luminosity and depth unlike any other. In Egypt the medium was used to decorate mummies by painting likenesses to honor the deceased.  In the 1920’s, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera began painting with it and artist Jasper Johns took it even further.  And its showing no sign of slowing down any time soon!

The process: Simply layering beeswax, resin and pigment (and fusing after each layer with a heat source) onto a substrate to create a work of art!

I attended a fabulous art retreat in Oregon recently (EncaustiCamp)where I learned how to do many of the techniques I’d only read about.  There are several great books on the subject but nothing compares to seeing it demonstrated firsthand by the experts!  It was such a great time!!  Be sure to check out the EncaustiCamp site!

Here are a couple of pieces I’ve made since returning home.