HISTORY OF ENCAUSTIC PAINTING
Encaustic wax is a historical painting technique in which the wax is heated and applied as paint.
Encaustic paint is made with beeswax, pigment, and a small amount of hardener. This can be 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. This makes for a very tactile working experience.
Encaustic is perhaps the most beautiful of all artists' paints and is as versatile as any 21st-century medium. It can be polished to a high gloss, carved, scraped, layered, collaged, dipped, cast, modelled, sculpted, textured, and combined with oil. It cools immediately so there is no drying time, yet it can always be reworked.
Painting with molten wax was first recorded over 2000 years ago. The most well-known examples are the funerary portraits in Roman Egypt from 100-300 AD. Some of these can be seen at the British Museum in London; the vibrancy of the paint is a testament to the longevity of the medium. The remarkably lifelike rendering of skin and hair shows the use of transparent glazing techniques long before they were used in the 15th century in oil painting.
Over the centuries, the use of encaustic has been superseded by other techniques. However, the rise of electric heated palettes in the 20th century has led to a revival in popularity.
Disclaimer: All dimensions, weight, colouring, overall finishes like patina, grain, weight and textures, may vary slightly due to the natural materials used and the throughout handmade process. No single item will be exactly like another.