This document provides information about encaustics painting. It begins with a definition of encaustics as painting with melted beeswax. It then discusses the history of encaustic painting in Egypt, particularly Fayum mummy portraits from 300 BCE to 160 CE. These were the first documented form of encaustic art. The document provides safety tips and techniques for creating encaustic paintings, such as using heated palettes, layering wax, adding pigments and embellishments, and fusing layers together with a heat tool.

1. Encaustics
Week 5
Grade 7 & 8
Debora Supplitt M.Ed.

2. What is Encaustics?

3. Encaustics is painting with melted bees
wax

4. Egypt is on the North-Eastern Tip of
Africa

5. Most of these portrait mummies were
found in the Egyptian Fayum Valley

6. In Egypt the Fayum Valley is located in
the lower Egypt west of the Nile River
Why might this be important?

7. Route of the Ancient Greeks
Route of the Romans

8. These portraits were placed on the
deceased persons mummy

9. Egyptian Art

10. Picture of Ancient Egyptians
Picture of Egyptian Greco-Romans
Three Cultures or Multi-culture

11. Egypt used Encaustic for Funeral
Portraits

12. Coptic Art

13. Fayum Mummy Portraits date from
300 BCE to 160 CE

14. Encaustic Fayum Mummy Portrait

15. Fayum mummy portraits are the first
documented form of Encaustic Art

16. Look at the portraits what do you see?

17. What can you tell about this person?
Notice the hair style
Egyptian Possibly Greco Egyptian-Greco Roman

18. What do you notice about these
people?
What might their life been like?

19. What might be some similar things
that this person did in his life that you
do today?

20. Modern Encaustic Artist
Jasper Johns

21. Diego Rivera
Encaustics and Gold Gilding Mural

22. Encaustiko is Greek which means to
burn in

23. The brushes we use for encaustics are
all natural animal hair.
• Any acrylic, nylon, teklon, or synthetic
material would melt in the heat.
• Use inexpensive brushes
• One brush per color or clean your brush really
good between colors.

24. Clean your brush
Practice good brush hygiene
• Place brush on the heat palette
• Melt extra wax off
• Wipe excess off with a
• paper towel

25. Fuse the layers of wax
together with a heat tool
• Heat tools are held at a distance
from the surface of the wax.
• Gently move the heat tool from side to side
melting to only a glisten.
• DO NOT OVER FUSE TO CREATE A RUNNING
MELTED WAX MESS!
• Every layer needs to be fused to the layer
underneath

26. Incising is to cut and scrape into the
picture creating lines
• Incising creates lines, definition and can reveal
layers under the top layer

27. Karl Kaiser’s Encaustic Work

28. Other heat sources you can use
Dedicated “NO HOLE” Iron

29. Embellishing Encaustics
• Pearl Ex powders
• Gilding
• Joss paper
This must be done on the top
layer and fused in.

30. Transferring images
• Must be toner based
• Heat wax first
• Place transfer image face down
• Words need to be revered prior to placing down to
read correctly
• What can you transfer? Anything that is toner based
• Use a wooden spoon or spoon to rub image onto wax
surface
• Use water to wet back to dampen and remove paper.

32. Tweezers and dip into medium
Place image on board and fuse

33. Mono Printing
• Draw image directly onto heat palette
• Drop rice paper, tissue paper, or thin paper onto
image.
• Rub the back surface to make sure all the wax has
been soaked into the paper.
• Lift off from the corner
• You may be able to get a second print.
• Paper can be applied to a substrate after finishing
with PVA adhesive.

35. Medium is another name for the
melted wax
• Most premixed medium come already
prepared with 6-1 Damar resin.
• Damar resin is a hardening agent that allows
the wax to dry to a solid state.

36. Only use metal containers on the heat
palettes
• Only use dedicated muffin tins, or loaf pans.
• It has been suggested not to use tuna or cat
food cans.
• I use them with wooden clothes pins.

37. Only transport encaustic medium with
a hot pot holder. Or ask for help.

38. Encaustic Gesso is non acrylic based
using chalk as the foundation
• Absorbent materials are needed to create on.
• Hand made papers can be a good choice
• No pre stretched canvas’s these have acrylic
gesso and the wax will fall off.

39. Dipping images to embed in a painting
• Use needle nose tweezers.
• Image paper will disappear once placed.
• Cut excess paper off before dipping.

40. The plate thermometer needs to
always hover around 200 degrees
• Fire extinguisher is handy
• Ventilation, open door, fan blowing outside to
take exhaust out of room.

41. Process
Wood substrate

42. Melted wax
Colored or Clear

43. Paint with wax
Add color to melted wax by mixing dry
pigments
• http://www.womackworkshops.com/getting-
started/

44. Add color to picture by using oil
pastels

45. Process of Encaustics
• Step one Warm Board with heat tool
• Apply one even coat of clear wax for the base
coat.
• Fuse together (melt wax just to shinny
glimmer)
• DO NOT OVER FUSE to a Liquid mess.
• Add color, layers, texture.

46. Safety
• Keep heat tray or palettes
at 200 degrees.
NO HOTTER!
DO NOT TOUCH THE DIAL
Only adult hand can regulate
the temperature.
• If the tray or your piece starts to smoke
STOP, UNPLUG, and WAIT
Never let anything smoke
SMOKE IS BAD!

47. Be Safe, paint safe, bee creative!