Encaustic is one of the most ancient painting techniques. It is accomplished by burning natural beeswax with dry pigments into a porous surface. You literally paint with fire!   “En-kausticos” comes from the Greek meaning to “burn into.” 

Encaustic technique originated in Egypt. Greek boat makers and engineers waterproofing their ships’ hulls with pitch or tar in wax.  It traveled over to the arts because of its ability to keep pigment vibrant. Encaustic technique served two functions: to preserve and to decorate.  This is why most Greek statues and buildings made of stone were painted. And how was the paint applied? En-kaustikos of course!  The pity is that, while encaustic was the medium in use throughout the span of the ancient world, very little evidence of it survives. There is one notable exception– the Fayyum mummy masks on exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in London and Rome. These mummy portraits, borrowing from the funerary practices of ancient Egypt, would wrap the faces of the upper-class noblemen and women in the Hellenistic Period in Alexandria, Egypt as memorials to the deceased by capturing their images with encaustic onto wood. Ironically, these images would be created only to be buried with the deceased into eternity (until the 19th century when amateur archeologists would unearth and collect them.)

Encaustic fell into disuse as it was cumbersome.  But in the 20th century, what with the ease of using hot plates and extra-powerful blow torches, encaustics are making a comeback.  The 20th century has seen a rebirth of encaustic on a major scale. It is an irony of our modern age, with its emphases on advanced technology, that a painting technique as ancient and involved as encaustic should receive such widespread interest. 

Why? Because with all things ancient, it signals a return to the elemental, the raw and the natural.  The ancients in their minimalism spoke in products and processes that appear post-modern and quite abstract.

Encaustic’s versatility also attributes to its popularity. It can be combined with painting, collage, mixed media. It acts like glue or medium, but with the advantage of making paper transparent. It takes well to toner transfers. Secondly, it appeals to the tactile senses.  The smell of the wax, the warmth of it gives the artist a personal connection to the medium. There is nothing like the warm feeling of rubbing your fingers over the wax, adding pigment sticks to bring out the fissures and crannies. Thirdly, it allows for multi-dimensionality and texture.  Because the medium can be built up in hundreds of layers, encaustic painting is able to be texturized in a thousand ways. In fact, some encaustic artists actually sculpt pieces from the medium itself.  The medium gives the pigment a rich optical effect. 

That’s another thing about encaustic art making: it combines both the mind and the body in a harmonious whole. You need the body to create encaustic, whether by heating and mixing the medium, rubbing the pigments, feeling the textures.   It is very therapeutic in this regard; bridging both left and right brain hemispheres.

My encaustics unlike some of my contemporaries are renowned for their stark textures. I use the textures to create the undulating emotional landscape in my work. As an artist inspired by nature, it is not uncommon to see actual land in the landscape. I embed seeds, flowers, branches, stems, rocks and other natural elements in my pieces.

These are some examples. Most encaustic painting runs on the small side, ranging from 4X4 inch panels to 18”X24”. Larger pieces and those with distinct color palettes can be created by commission.