Encaustic is a beeswax based paint that is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to a surface and reheated to fuse the layers together. The ancient Greeks developed encaustic over 2,000 years ago. The word encaustic derives from the Greek word enkaustikos, meaning “to heat” or “to burn”. The wax layers of an encaustic painting need to be “burned in”. This simply means fusing the layers of wax together with heat to ensure that the different layers of wax are bonded together and will not flake apart.
Greek artists were painting with encaustic as long ago as the 5th century B.C. The history of encaustic began in ancient Greece, where shipbuilders used beeswax and resin to seal the joints and waterproof the hulls of their vessels. Pigmenting the wax gave rise to the decorating of warships. It is possible that the crude painting of ships lead to the refinement of painting pigmented wax onto panels, statues, ceramics, and architecture.
One of the joys of encaustic is its luminosity. Layers of pigmented wax deliver color in a way no other medium can, for as light passes through those layers and is reflected back up to the surface, the painting is actually illuminated from within. Wax has several inherent qualities that allow it to withstand the test of time: it is a natural adhesive; it is moisture resistant, mildew and fungus resistant, and is a natural preservative. Wax paint also does not contain solvents so they will not darken or yellow with age, leaving the painting as fresh as the day it was painted.
