A Guide to Creating Your Own Encaustic Wax Art

 What encaustic wax art?

Encaustic art is a centuries-old painting method in which wax and pigment are fused together with heat to create a work of art. For those who have not yet attended an encaustic class, encaustic is simply paint prepared from a combination of white pure beeswax, natural dammar tree sap, and pigment powder. Attending Art and Success’s encaustic workshops can help you learn encaustic painting.

How to create an encaustic wax art

The preliminary step toward creating your own encaustic wax art is to enroll in an encaustic painting class and learn encaustic painting. Enrolling in encaustic workshops run by reputable encaustic art schools is a fantastic place to start. When I decided to pursue cold wax encaustic, for example, I did my research on online encaustic class providers, which led to my participation in Art and Success' Encaustic Mini-Course: Understanding the Basics.

The encaustic mini-course gave me the foundation I needed to dive into the world of cold wax acrylic painting. It was exactly what I needed to get over my creative block with my own encaustic wax art. I found the beginning encaustic mini-course to be to the point and delivered with straightforward tips and trips in a work-along format, just like all of the additional coursework that I later registered in, including cold wax painting for beginners and cold wax oil painting techniques.

Once you have received the necessary instruction and information about encaustic wax art from suitable courses, you may confidently proceed with the following procedures to produce your encaustic wax art:

Select and prepare you substrate
A proper base is required for good encaustic waxwork. Once you've decided on the correct substrate, wrap the sides of your panel with painter's tape. If you want to paint on a white background, you can use encaustic gesso or chalk paint to prepare your substrate. This is optional because it is not a bad idea to make your encaustic wax painting straight on an unprimed board or panel.

Melt the encaustic medium
Melting your encaustic material in tins on a hot palette is the next stage in producing your encaustic waxwork. Some artists use metal tins to blend their colors, while others utilize the griddle. Either choice is acceptable.

Apply the wax
Brush the encaustic medium onto the substrate after it has been melted. Use natural hairbrushes for this because synthetic brushes will melt when used with encaustic. Heat the brushes while heating the wax and leave them in the pots of colored wax or on the griddle surface as you paint. This keeps them warm while you work on your painting.

Start painting
Brush a layer of molten encaustic medium onto the substrate and fuse it during your painting. Keep in mind that encaustic is placed in layers to a painting, and each layer is fused.

Scrap, incise, and gouge
After you've finished painting and fusing each layer of the painting, scrape, incise, and gouge the artwork to obtain the desired smooth surface and texture.

Continue to adhere to these guidelines and you will soon discover the limitless possibilities of encaustic wax art! As you gain confidence, experiment with cold wax and acrylic paint. That is how you will uncover your personal voice via encaustic art.