The Irresistible Appeal of Encaustic Painting
Encaustic is a beeswax-based paint that is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to a surface and reheated to fuse the paint into a uniform enamel-like finish. The word encaustic comes from the Greek word which means "to burn in," or to fuse the paint.
Encaustic has a long history, but it is as versatile as any 21st century medium. It can be polished to a high gloss, modeled, sculpted, textured, and combined with collage materials. Encaustic paint can be layered with pigment and clear wax to create overlapping colors and amazing depth. It can be textured, scraped, incised, etched, combed, embossed, and sculpted into three dimensional bits or smoothed to a glassy finish.
Because beeswax is impervious to moisture, encaustic is durable and will not deteriorate, yellow, nor darken. Encaustic paintings do not have to be varnished or protected by glass.