Encaustic painting is a technique that's been used since the 4th Century B.C. The Romans often used encaustic in wall paintings though any flat surface will do. Encaustic refers to mixing melted with color pigment to create a painting. The end result of this technique is a rich and glossy surface that is very durable.
Instructions
1. Select a separate saucepan or metal vessel for each color in the painting. Put enough wax in the saucepan to cover the panel size you have chosen a few times. The mixture should be a ratio of 95 percent beeswax and 5 percent canuba wax.
2. Melt the wax in each saucepan until it reaches a temperature of 160 to 220 degrees F. Keep the encaustic mixture on the heat source while you work on the painting.
3. Add oil paint to the melted wax, until you achieve your desired richness of color.
4. Use a spatula, palette knife or any tool that can hold the encaustic. Scoop the encaustic out of the pan and apply the color mixture to the panel.
5. Add layers of encaustic on top of each other to mix colors. Scrape back to bottom layers or simply draw with a knife or razor into hardened encaustic to create texture.
6. Apply heat over the surface of the encaustic painting with the heat gun to melt colors and textures together. This unifies the painting with a glossy surface.
7. Finish the painting by buffing it with a soft cloth after it has cooled. Bring the surface up to a high gloss periodically in this way.
