Encaustic and Cold Wax Painting Mediums (2024)

FAQs

What type of medium is used in encaustic painting? ›

Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other materials are sometimes used.

So, you are SAFE to work on top of an encaustic painting with cold wax/oils; there is enough "like on like" for good adhesion.

Cold wax medium is a mixture of wax in a solvent; some brands have added resins in it. It is a semi-solid paste and requires no heat to apply or fuse layers. As a comparison, encaustic works use heat to melt and fuse wax. Many artists combine it with oil paint. It can also be combined with pigments or used on its own.

The unique process of encaustic painting involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added. This liquid/paste is then applied to a surface—usually wood, though canvas can also be used. Metal tools and special brushes can shape the wax before it cools.

If you are doing 2 dimensional works, some good choices for substrates are: Birch Plywood, Regular Plywood, Unfinished Pine, Un-tempered Masonite, MDF, and Cradled Panels.

A leading encaustic paint manufacturer consistently uses a ratio of 4.5 parts beeswax to 1 part dammar. This would be considered at the top end of the range by most artists, producing a hard paint. An average among many working artists is a standard ratio of 6 parts beeswax to 1 part dammar.

Cold Wax Medium is compatible with oil colors, alkyd/oil colors, alkyd-based painting mediums, and Gamsol.

Melt wax, linseed oil carefully in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add damar crystals and turpentine. Heat the oil in a double boiler. Slowly add the beeswax in small pieces, stirring until all the wax has been melted into the oil.

Cold Wax Medium is a lean material. CWM is made from beeswax, a pharmaceutical grade, that is soaked in nothing but Gamsol OMS. A very small amount of alkyd resin is also added into the wax.

The materials required can be quite hard to come by and in particular, finding suitable boards and panels to work on can be a problem. Canvas is not suitable for encaustic medium as it expands and contracts and could cause the wax to crack and flake off.

What paper is best for encaustic art? ›

Polar Matte is your choice. This Archival Matte paper brings you professional quality in every sense of the meaning - from the coating to the base stock, Polar is the go-to photo matte when you want the best.

Encaustic paint is a combination of beeswax, pigment and a small amount of hardener (either dammar resin or carnauba wax).

The standard white ground for oil paint is either acrylic gesso or titanium or lead white oil primer. These grounds keep the oil sitting on the surface rather than being absorbed in and give oil paint its greatest depth and gloss. Encaustic gesso, on the other hand, allows oil to seep down into the pores of the gesso.

Ingredients: Beeswax, carnauba, damar resin, red pigment.

... then add an amount of pigment and stir this into the molten wax. Pour it out into a mold and leave to cool. De-mold the now cold an set wax colour piece and you have some encaustic paint ready to use.

Wooden panels are the most commonly used surface for encaustic painting. Encaustic can also be done on canvas, paper, and other materials that are heat resistant, porous, and stiff.