What is Encaustic?  

The first question I usually get when people look at my work is "what is this  made of ?"  I get a  second look when I explain that it is beeswax.  ' Yes,'  I paint  with beeswax. 

The painting medium is made from natural beeswax, damar resin and  pigment. 

Heat is used at every stage of the encaustic process.   The medium sits in  small tins on a  heated griddle keeping the wax liquid and workable.  The  brushes are usually kept in the tins with  the molten wax, ready for painting.    I need to work quickly, as the wax starts to harden as soon as it  leaves the  heated surface.   What makes the  process encaustic, is that heat has to be  applied to  each layer of wax.  This is known as fusing.   Fusing,  melts and binds the layers of wax to each other.

The medium is very textural and viewers are encouraged to touch the surface.  The warmth of  someone's hand will make the surface glow.