TECHNIQUE
Encaustic on wood
Encaustic is painting with hot wax on a wood panel, leaving a surface with relief you can feel.
The wax is applied warm and sets at once. Every layer stands as an edge, which is why an encaustic painting has a depth you see better from the side than head-on.
Why wood and not canvas
Wax needs a rigid support.
Canvas moves and the wax would crack. A wood panel stays stable, but it makes the work heavy.
How the relief comes about
Each layer of wax sets before the next one comes.
There is no running and no correcting afterwards. What is laid down stays down or is scraped away.
Light from the side
Raking light makes the texture visible.
A spot straight on flattens an encaustic painting. From an oblique angle the same surface casts shadows.
Temperature
Not above a radiator and not in direct sun.
Wax stays stable up to about 50 degrees. A south-facing wall behind glass can go higher.
Availability
On request.
Encaustic works are made in small numbers. Write to me if you are looking for one.
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