How To Paint With Encaustic Wax…?
‘How to paint with encaustic wax?’
I’m always asked the question, HOW do you paint with encaustic wax, and I’ve struggled to answer it clearly in the past, because there are SO many ways… It’s impossible to sum up into a sentence or two…
However:
A great analogy came to mind recently… “How do you cook food?!”
As you know, there are SO MANY ways to cook…
- Heat = There are countless heat sources…
- Utensils = You can use any number of utensils to manipulate and move the food around, according to the finished dish you want to create….
- Appliances = You can pick up a budget crock pot from a value range that you might need to fiddle with the temperature on, or get a state of the art multi functional device that will immediately regulate your temperatures perfectly…
- Safety = You won’t need an extractor fan and oven gloves for making a slice of toast… (well, hopefully…! 😉 )
My point is, these variables of cooking food, is exactly the same for how to paint with hot wax (encaustic).
Some people will be at the ‘I can’t boil an egg stage’, others ready to ‘flambé their dish at the table’.
If you’re at the beginners ‘can’t boil an egg’ stage, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy learning how, or even work your way up to amazing flambé dishes.
Likewise, you can be a Michelean chef, it doesn’t stop you using the simplest of tools and ingredients to make stunning creations.
There are skills at each end of the spectrum that will compliment each other. Use them in isolation, or use them all together depending on how complex you want to go.
One thing I see time and time again, is people get overwhelmed on where to start…
My simple answer to that is; START…. with what appeals to you most, and where your budget allows…
It’s ALL gorgeous to work with… you can build on all of it… if you want to…
I have created lots of resources to help you experience encaustic painting for yourself, and I hope, will help you avoid some of the pitfalls I made along the way…!
Watch the high heat and low heat videos here to see which style speaks to you most.
[PS: Health and Safety… NEVER use containers or utensils for food use after you’ve used them for wax painting!]
