wax on.jpg

 

Taking a break from all other painting mediums and diving deep into the wax to paint some fun encaustic pieces, one layer after another.  

For this exercise I started on basic 9" x 12" drawing paper, adding a layer of white encaustic gesso to the first piece and a layer of regular black gesso to the second.  

For the first piece I begin by using up the leftover wax melted on my hotplate, then I add in some tinted wax paint, artist crayons, a little bit of oil paint that I wiped off with acetone, and then some more wax.  I fused the layers together many times throughout the piece, scraping away layers when I wasn't thrilled with them, adding more until I felt content with the piece. 

For the second piece I wanted to create a pattern, using just black and white.  I started off with a layer of black gesso, then added a layer of black wax, fusing it with heat to the gessoed background.  I then used white wax paint and a smaller round brush to create the design. 

This is a really fun and easy way to get started using encaustics.  If you haven't tried it yet I highly recommend it, it's such a great way to make art and to play!  

Be sure to check out the first lesson on Encaustics Here.