Encaustic Art

Encaustic Art is an ancient form of painting using pigmented beeswax. It is heated and the paste is applied to surfaces such as canvas, wood and more recently card, glossy paper as well as pottery.   Since the 1990's encaustic art has made a comeback and  developed to include tools such as hotplates, heated stylus and mostly electric irons.

The first time I ever encountered this art was 20 years ago, when I was shopping with my family at a newly opened shopping centre.

I managed to frame and sell quite a few of them, all mostly postcard size.  I did however, sell a few A4 sized ones too. The feedback was really positive, as people loved the idea and the unique designs I had created. 

Crafting these paintings, using this method  is quite addictive because each one in individual and you never know what to expect, so the finished product is always a surprise.  I remember when I first started I spent two whole days from morning till night making and experimenting.

The artist was demonstrating how to make the paintings using a hot iron and pigmented wax. The designs were more like fantasy landscapes and abstract colours each one unique. I loved them very much and bought a couple to put on my wall.

The second encounter was three years ago at a local festival, where I was given the opportunity to create one of my own. I remember the artist was amazed at my skill level considering that it was my first ever attempt. This was around the time I started painting.  A year later my father gave me a small iron which he bought from the local market. I decided to try my hand at this art using the small iron, and got carried away with the immense variety and use of colour, that I destroyed the iron. Nevertheless I created some awesome pieces, here are a few examples.

I completed around fifty, some I kept while others were just trials which did not work out so good.

I am not making any presently, however I will be going back to it in the future. In the meantime here is a video, of another artist demonstrating the art,  to whet your appetite, you may want to give it a go. Good luck :) :) 

See yeh
love
Samira