It all starts with the bees…and fire.

The honeyed smell of beeswax scents the air of my studio, and curious bees pause on the screens, drawn by the smell. Pans shimmer with melted golden wax, and pots of brilliant colors glisten on the hot palette. I fire up my torch, and I’m in heaven.

Encaustic is a medium demanding complete attention—hot wax and palettes, torch flames and heat guns ensure that I am sharp and focused, yet relaxed. Watching the colors glisten, run, and then harden as they cool is endlessly fascinating. Scraping back wax to reveal lower layers reveals hidden jewels of color and texture. And the very physical act of enscribing, rasping or scratching the surface carries a calculated risk—one wayward slip and the entire painting can be ruined. This medium demands patience as layers are built, one after another, providing luminosity and depth unachievable with other painting mediums. While a measure of control is learned over time and with practice, encaustic is an unpredictable mistress—she offers delightful surprises and occasional misery. The physciality of encaustic requires stamina and a sure hand. I like working in silence—an artistic meditation—listening to the flame, the sounds of scraping, absorbed by the smells and colors. The act of buffing a completed encaustic painting feels like caressing a dear friend that you’ve known and loved for years.

Encaustic is an ancient painting medium, best known for the Fayum funerary portraits painted by Greek artists in Egypt from the 1st through the 3rd centuries. These gorgeous portraits of the deceased are still vibrant and fresh, millennia later. Encaustic enjoyed a renaissance in the later part of of the 20th century, and its popularity continues.

An entirely natural medium, encaustic is made of beeswax, damar resin (obtained from tapping coniferous trees), and pigments. Extremely stable, artworks require little special care other than keeping them out of direct sunlight or leaving them in your car on a hot day! The wax will continue to harden over a period of several years. Occasional buffing with a soft cloth will remove any bloom that may occur on the surface. Encaustic works purchased from me come with “care and feeding” instructions to ensure you enjoy your artwork for decades to come.