ENCAUSTIC PAINTING
Encaustic painting is the application of molten, pigmented, beeswax and resin typically applied to a rigid substrate. Used in ancient Greece for mummy portraiture, encaustic painting is an art medium that has enjoyed a recent renaissance.
Encaustic surfaces can be smooth or textured. Lines and patterns may be incised into the surface and collage elements can be integrated into the wax. Encaustic medium can also be used three dimensionally in sculpture and textiles.
The transparent quality of encaustic wax gives the work a luminous depth and the finished piece can be buffed to a highly relective shine with a soft cloth.
OIL and COLD WAX PAINTING
Unlike encaustic medium, cold wax is, as its name implies, applied to the painting surface cold, not heated. Where encaustic medium is a beeswax and tree resin mixture, applied in a melted state, cold wax medium is a beeswax and solvent mixture. This also indicates that cold wax painting should never be heated or fused as encaustic paints are required.
Oil and cold wax can be applied to a prepared canvas, paper, or rigid surface. Layers can be built up, removed and scratched into. Collage and mark-making tools can be incorporated.