Encaustic

I've been wanting to take my photographic images a step further. I love to shoot and feel strongly about many of the images; but I want more. I thought of painting on them, dabbled in that with no success. I have collaged with some but what I have done so far actually takes the photo down a notch to me.

Anyway, I saw some encaustic work at a local school last fall and have been thinking about it since. Today I ordered a starter set of encaustic paints and some extra medium. I'm not going to invest in art store heat equipment or tools right now. I will get a griddle at the thrift store and use the metal tools and heat guns I have. I'll get some wood blocks and seal them myself.

For those of you experienced in encaustic, any wise words or experiences to share?

For those of you who haven't seen or heard of encaustic painting, it is painting with beeswax and pigment. Layers are laid on; colors show through each other and blend when heated. Heat tools and shaping tools are used to carve and smooth the image.

Encaustic is used for painting, collage, and painting over other images (like photos!). I'll update this site as I progress and would like to hear from any of you doing or thinking of encaustic.