Painting a Layer of Encaustic Wax
About Encaustic
HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR ENCAUSTIC PAINTINGS
An encaustic paint film is stable in a temperature range of approximately 40-120°F. Wax is more fragile in the cold and becomes extremely brittle in freezing temperatures. If you would drop the painting in cold temperatures it will shatter. The paintings will begin to shift at 120°F. The wax begins to be workable at 150°F, and it becomes liquid at 162°F. Very hot days can soften the wax somewhat, but will cause no real damage.
If you must transport the painting in hot or cold weather simply first cover the entire wax surface with wax paper, then cardboard, and some form of insulation. I often use Reflectix, which is a role of metallic silver bubble wrap type material that can be found in most hardware stores. When the painting is at room temperature remove the wax paper and unwrap the painting. When in hot weather the wax paper will stick to the painting but will cause no damage as long as it is removed at room temperature.
Do not hang your painting in direct sunlight. You should never put any fine art in direct sun, but with encaustic there could be more immediate consequences. If you are nervous about the placement of the painting just feel the surface. It should be cool to the touch. If the surface of the wall is warm, then the painting should not be displayed in that location.
I will not often place encaustic works under glass, but be aware that when encaustic is encased in glass and hung in direct sunlight, the glass will magnify the light and the space between painting and glass can heat up dramatically causing the painting to melt and shift even if the room temperature is within an acceptable range. The paints are a mixture of beeswax, pigment and damar resin. This formula cures and hardens the wax over time, making the paint less vulnerable to damage. However, you can still scratch the surface with something as simple as a fingernail. It is like varnishing the painting from within.
You will need to buff your painting when it seems dull or hazed over. Smooth surfaces should always be shiny. When the painting is "young" or recently finished, it has not yet had time to cure and harden, therefore it may develop some “bloom” which means it has gone back to a matte looking surface after buffing the first few times. It could take up to 6 months for the painting’s surface to fully cure and harden to where it will keep its polished look. At this point, it also sheds dust and dirt more readily. To buff the piece, start by making sure the painting is at room temperature. Then take a soft 100% lint free-cotton cloth and buff the painting like you would buff a waxed car. You may also use a clean hand to gently rub the surface with two fingers to remove the first signs of bloom. Do not buff the painting if it is over 75 degrees and do not buff hard enough to create heat through friction.
Encaustic paints are perhaps the most archivally durable forms of painting. For instance, the Faiyûm mummy portraits in Egypt have survived over 2000 years without cracking, flaking, or fading. Wax has several inherent qualities that allow it to withstand the test of time: it is a natural adhesive and preservative; it is moisture resistant, mildew and fungus resistant, and unappetizing to insects. Wax paint also does not contain solvents or oils so they will not darken or yellow with age. Leaving the painting as fresh as the day it was painted.
An encaustic paint film is stable in a temperature range of approximately 40-120°F. Wax is more fragile in the cold and becomes extremely brittle in freezing temperatures. If you would drop the painting in cold temperatures it will shatter. The paintings will begin to shift at 120°F. The wax begins to be workable at 150°F, and it becomes liquid at 162°F. Very hot days can soften the wax somewhat, but will cause no real damage.
If you must transport the painting in hot or cold weather simply first cover the entire wax surface with wax paper, then cardboard, and some form of insulation. I often use Reflectix, which is a role of metallic silver bubble wrap type material that can be found in most hardware stores. When the painting is at room temperature remove the wax paper and unwrap the painting. When in hot weather the wax paper will stick to the painting but will cause no damage as long as it is removed at room temperature.
Do not hang your painting in direct sunlight. You should never put any fine art in direct sun, but with encaustic there could be more immediate consequences. If you are nervous about the placement of the painting just feel the surface. It should be cool to the touch. If the surface of the wall is warm, then the painting should not be displayed in that location.
I will not often place encaustic works under glass, but be aware that when encaustic is encased in glass and hung in direct sunlight, the glass will magnify the light and the space between painting and glass can heat up dramatically causing the painting to melt and shift even if the room temperature is within an acceptable range. The paints are a mixture of beeswax, pigment and damar resin. This formula cures and hardens the wax over time, making the paint less vulnerable to damage. However, you can still scratch the surface with something as simple as a fingernail. It is like varnishing the painting from within.
You will need to buff your painting when it seems dull or hazed over. Smooth surfaces should always be shiny. When the painting is "young" or recently finished, it has not yet had time to cure and harden, therefore it may develop some “bloom” which means it has gone back to a matte looking surface after buffing the first few times. It could take up to 6 months for the painting’s surface to fully cure and harden to where it will keep its polished look. At this point, it also sheds dust and dirt more readily. To buff the piece, start by making sure the painting is at room temperature. Then take a soft 100% lint free-cotton cloth and buff the painting like you would buff a waxed car. You may also use a clean hand to gently rub the surface with two fingers to remove the first signs of bloom. Do not buff the painting if it is over 75 degrees and do not buff hard enough to create heat through friction.
Encaustic paints are perhaps the most archivally durable forms of painting. For instance, the Faiyûm mummy portraits in Egypt have survived over 2000 years without cracking, flaking, or fading. Wax has several inherent qualities that allow it to withstand the test of time: it is a natural adhesive and preservative; it is moisture resistant, mildew and fungus resistant, and unappetizing to insects. Wax paint also does not contain solvents or oils so they will not darken or yellow with age. Leaving the painting as fresh as the day it was painted.
HISTORY OF ENCAUSTIC PAINTING
What is encaustic?
The term “Encaustic” is often used to describe both the paint itself, and the method for using it. Encaustic is a wax based paint composed of beeswax, a crystallized tree sap known as damar resin, and color pigments. Encaustic paint is heated to temperatures ranging between 180° F and 220° F. The paint is kept molten on a heated palette and applied to an absorbent surface. Unlike other paints, encaustic is never wet or dry; it goes from a liquid to a solid state and back again in seconds. Each layer is applied and then reheated in order to fuse the new paint to the layers below.
When was the earliest history of encaustic?
Encaustic comes from the Greek word enkaiein, meaning to burn in, which refers to the process of fusing the paint. The oldest know examples of encaustic painting techniques come from works known as the “Fayum Mummy Portraits”. These paintings were discovered in the Fayum oasis, which was a wealthy district on the left bank of the Nile River about 65 miles south of Cairo. Most of the paintings were found wrapped up in burial linens and placed where the decease’s face would have been on the sarcophagi. Some of these paintings date back to around 100 BCE through 300 CE, and are the oldest known painted portraits to have survived from anywhere in the world. Encaustic painting was largely practiced by Greek artists in the 5th century and continued into the 7th century until it was overshadowed by the invention of tempera paint. Tempera was quicker to work with, less expensive and less demanding than encaustic. Therefore, encaustic painting was nearly considered a lost art form when most artists abandoned its use in favor of working with tempera paints.
How does encaustic fit into modern art?
The revival of encaustic painting began in the 18thcentury with the archeological discovery of the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Antiquarians were excited to rediscover the techniques of the ancient painters and in the 19th century encaustic was further explored as a possible solution to the issues of damp environments faced by mural painters. Later, in the 20th century, the invention of portable electric heating implements made encaustic a far less formidable technique. Robert Delaunay, Antoine Pevsner, Diego Rivera, Rifka Angel, Karl Zerbe, and Victor Brauner were all early exponents of the revival of encaustic. Alfonso Ossorio, Jasper Johns, Lynda Benglis, Robert Morris, Nancy Graves, Mia Westerlund Roosen, and Robert Rauschenberg were artists who turned encaustic into a modernist and cross-disciplinary medium by extending its use to collage, assemblage, sculpture and even printmaking. Today encaustic is perhaps one of the most versatile mediums of the 21stcentury. It can be applied in thin layers to create a smooth surface, polished to a high gloss, layered, scrapped, carved, cast, molded, sculpted, textured, dipped and collaged or embedded with other materials.
What is encaustic?
The term “Encaustic” is often used to describe both the paint itself, and the method for using it. Encaustic is a wax based paint composed of beeswax, a crystallized tree sap known as damar resin, and color pigments. Encaustic paint is heated to temperatures ranging between 180° F and 220° F. The paint is kept molten on a heated palette and applied to an absorbent surface. Unlike other paints, encaustic is never wet or dry; it goes from a liquid to a solid state and back again in seconds. Each layer is applied and then reheated in order to fuse the new paint to the layers below.
When was the earliest history of encaustic?
Encaustic comes from the Greek word enkaiein, meaning to burn in, which refers to the process of fusing the paint. The oldest know examples of encaustic painting techniques come from works known as the “Fayum Mummy Portraits”. These paintings were discovered in the Fayum oasis, which was a wealthy district on the left bank of the Nile River about 65 miles south of Cairo. Most of the paintings were found wrapped up in burial linens and placed where the decease’s face would have been on the sarcophagi. Some of these paintings date back to around 100 BCE through 300 CE, and are the oldest known painted portraits to have survived from anywhere in the world. Encaustic painting was largely practiced by Greek artists in the 5th century and continued into the 7th century until it was overshadowed by the invention of tempera paint. Tempera was quicker to work with, less expensive and less demanding than encaustic. Therefore, encaustic painting was nearly considered a lost art form when most artists abandoned its use in favor of working with tempera paints.
How does encaustic fit into modern art?
The revival of encaustic painting began in the 18thcentury with the archeological discovery of the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Antiquarians were excited to rediscover the techniques of the ancient painters and in the 19th century encaustic was further explored as a possible solution to the issues of damp environments faced by mural painters. Later, in the 20th century, the invention of portable electric heating implements made encaustic a far less formidable technique. Robert Delaunay, Antoine Pevsner, Diego Rivera, Rifka Angel, Karl Zerbe, and Victor Brauner were all early exponents of the revival of encaustic. Alfonso Ossorio, Jasper Johns, Lynda Benglis, Robert Morris, Nancy Graves, Mia Westerlund Roosen, and Robert Rauschenberg were artists who turned encaustic into a modernist and cross-disciplinary medium by extending its use to collage, assemblage, sculpture and even printmaking. Today encaustic is perhaps one of the most versatile mediums of the 21stcentury. It can be applied in thin layers to create a smooth surface, polished to a high gloss, layered, scrapped, carved, cast, molded, sculpted, textured, dipped and collaged or embedded with other materials.
