The Encaustic Process

Encaustic painting, or simply “encaustic,” is a technique that uses beeswax and damar resin as a medium to create paintings or mixed media photography. The “caustic” part of the term indicates that heat is used to melt and blend the layers of wax into a unified piece. 

In ancient Greece, ship hulls were waterproofed with beeswax and tinted with brightly colored pigments. In 800 B.C., Homer writes of painted warships sailing into Troy. Hundreds of encaustic paintings exist in the form of the Fayum funerary portraits painted on wooden masks that adorned the deceased, leaving their realistic portrayal in pigmented wax. These nature-based materials from B.C. times are surprisingly consistent with those found in an encaustic workroom today.

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Photo Encaustic Styles

Photographers with different creative viewpoints can experiment with photo encaustic using a range of methods:

1. Brushing a smooth coating of medium over photographic image, this application of a translucent wax surface gives interest, texture and depth.

2. Altering the photo by applying textures ranging from scratches and aging effects to heavy sculptural forms. Adding multiple layers of wax on sections of the image gives dimension and character. Color, too, can be applied, using crayons and remade encaustic infused wax, personalising the work even further.

3. Using the translucent effect of the wax, allowing light to pass through an image or combining several images together. A variety of objects like old letters, textiles and other interesting ephemera can also be layered into a piece. The process is very rewarding and the medium allows for infinite changes and manipulation of the materials until you are satisfied.