What is Encaustic Photography?

Encaustic photography is a technique that uses beeswax and damar resin to protect a photograph. It adds mystery, texture and an ethereal feel. Other items can be incorporated such as encaustic paints, pastels, oil paints, found items, texture, or stencils to create a mixed media piece. Images can be printed on different types of paper and embedded into the wax or burnished over the top layer of wax. The “caustic” part of the term indicates that heat is used to melt and blend the layers of wax into a unified piece. 

In ancient Greece, ship hulls were waterproofed with beeswax and tinted with brightly colored pigments. In 800 B.C., Homer writes of painted warships sailing into Troy. Hundreds of encaustic paintings exist in the form of the Fayum funerary portraits painted on wooden masks that adorned the deceased, leaving their realistic portrayal in pigmented wax. These nature-based materials from B.C. times are surprisingly consistent with those found in an encaustic workroom today.

Encaustic Care and Tips

 -Indoor environments generally do not get hot enough to worry about the wax melting. Just make sure wherever you hang or store your art, temperatures do not exceed 120 degrees, or you will be sad.

 -Hanging any fine art in prolonged periods of direct sunlight is not recommended.

 -Do NOT leave your art piece in a hot car!

 -During the first year while the wax is curing, a whitish, light haze may appear. This is called blooming and is normal. You can remove the bloom and/or any fingerprints by buffing your artwork using the warm/clean palm of your hand, a soft lint-free cloth or even a panty hose. Just make sure the surface is clean and dust free first to avoid scratching the wax.

-Dust your artwork with something soft like a Swiffer or soft lint-free cloth.

Tips for Hanging Your Artwork

A screw and washer combination is recommended for best results with pieces weighing 2 pounds or more. The screw should be placed in a wall stud whenever possible for security, especially if there is some weight to your art piece. The washer is an added precautionary measure to prevent the artwork from possibly being bumped off the edge of a screw or nail. Not gonna lie, some of our work is heavy! But have no fear, here is a great article with helpful tips on how to hang heavier pieces. How To Hang Heavy Art