History of Encaustic
Encaustic painting is an ancient technique, dating back to the Greeks, who used wax to caulk ship hulls. Pigmenting the wax gave rise to decorating of warships. Also, the use of encaustic on panels rivaled the use of tempera in what are the earliest known portable easel paintings. Tempera was a faster easier medium compared to encaustic, which was a slow and difficult technique. However the paint could be built up into relief, and the wax gave a thick optical effect to the pigment. These characteristics made the finished painting (portrait) startlingly life-like. Additionally, encaustic had far greater durability than tempera, which was vulnerable to moisture. The famous Fayum Mummy Portraits painted in the 1st - 3rd centuries AD by Greek painters in Egypt proves the medium's durability and beauty. These portraits of the deceased, painted either in the prime of life of after death, were placed over the person's mummy as a memorial. These are the oldest surviving portraits from ancient times and are still as vibrant as the day
they were painted.
The 20th century saw a rebirth of encaustic thanks to modern technology. Electric heating implements and the variety of tools have made encaustic more accessible. The encaustic medium continues to gain popularity with artists around the world due to its versatility.
Encaustic is a Greek word meaning "to heat or burn in" (enkaustikos). Heat is used throughout the process, from melting the beeswax and varnish to fusing the layers of wax. Encaustic consists of natural beeswax and damar resin (crystallized tree sap). The medium can be used alone for its transparency or adhesive qualities or used pigmented. The medium is melted and applied with a brush. Each layer is then reheated with a heat gun or small blow torch in order to fuse it to the previous layer.
