Materials You'll Need
~Hot Cakes tins of colored encaustic wax (*Encaustikos)
~Hot Sticks colored encaustic wax (*Encaustikos)
~Wax Medium to mix with colors to allow them to flow easier (*Encaustikos)
~Slick Wax for clean up of griddle and brushes (*Encaustikos)
I found a great supply of **Enkaustikos colors and supplies at Muse Art & Design
located at
4224 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR. Their website is: http://www.museartanddesign.com
~Quality semi-clear stencils with various designs (**The Crafter's Workshop)
~Thin sheets of various solid colors of wax (***Yaley)
~Natural hair brushes such as hog hair or Haku flat brushes (*Encaustikos)
~Encaustic Gesso (specific to encaustic painting)
~Family sized large griddle
~Hand held heat tool with various temperatures (mine is traditionally used to
heat embossing powder on paper)
~Mini or standard clothes pins (to clip on tin rims to move them around the griddle)
~Ball stylus tools (various sizes)
~Paper towels (lots!)
~Found objects for collage elements
~Wood plaques or wooden cradle (wood with four sides attached so picture sticks out from wall)
*Enkaustikos products include a huge variety of Hot Cakes and Hot Sticks colors, Anodized
Aluminum Plates for monoprinting, natural hair brushes as well
as an instructional DVD at the:
Basic Encaustic Instructions
Before starting: Set up your work area with your griddle, paint, tools, wax sheets and
stencils. Place the chosen Hot Cakes tin colors for the project, brushes,
(bristles touching the griddle) to one side of your griddle and turn the
temperature to 175oF. Also note that to clean your brushes (between each color
change), wipe excess off on a paper towel, then dip a clean brush in Slick Wax,
applying it to your griddle, brushing the bristles back and forth in the
heated Slick Wax and wiping brush on a paper towel again. Repeat until
no color shows. Slick Wax is also used to clean the griddle itself. Just
brush on the slick wax and carefully wipe with a thick wad of paper towels
to clean up any left over wet wax colors while heat is still on. I place a
meat thermometer on the grill to watch the temperature.
1. Paint your raw wood surface with an even coat of white encaustic gesso (not
regular gesso!) and allow to dry.
2. Dip a medium sized flat hog hair brush in preferred color and paint sections, like an
uneven patchwork to create the base if the collage (see photo above). The
paints will remain soft until the wood is removed from the heat. To make the
paint flow more smoothly, mix in some wax medium.
3. Now to add texture to some of the color sections, dip the brush into a similar
or coordinating color, wait a few seconds and then lightly dry brush over the
first color. Do this until desired texture is achieved. Another technique is
to add wax medium into a second color and dab it on over a section. You can
also add stippling (pouncing a small brush) with wax color into just the
corners and edges of a section to create an aged look (second photo). To
add stripes, apply a second color then drag a wide tooth comb tool through just
the first color (so don't press to hard) or make them by hand with a stylus
tool. Once cooled, brush against the striped grain with another color
wax paint, until you get little balls of color building up. The light leaves
(and the circles over the light mint area of the Dandelion Collage) were
impressed in the wax background by hand with a small stylus tip (a large
blunt metal needle or Kemper needle tool would also work).
4. You can add all sorts of found or fabricated objects. I've added an old ruler, a metal
cog (or wheel shape), 1" squares of copper metal mesh (AMACO). The house was
made with a sheet of copper craft metal (thin enough to cut with heavy
scissors) by AMACO. I made it rustic by adding mint, and black distressed-look
wax details. To add the house securely, I added a few more layers of paint
beneath the house so it could be pushed into the wax while the wax layers
were still very warm. It remained a little raised but stayed in place. If
any item doesn't stay put, when you are completely finished with heating/painting
the collage, glue item in place with dabs of E6000 or Goop adhesive.
5. I created a doll made from pressing flesh color polymer clay an old kids metal mold
used for gel type figures. I added some rust color clay for the hair and used a
permanent extra fine marker to add closed eyes, added rosy cheeks with
pastel chalk then baked it as directed. When the collage was finished I
applied a layer of Future floor wax to the doll. I love to add smaller objects
from my sewing box (thimble, button, vintage label and 2 sewing pins cut
shorter), game pieces (wood checker, rare burgundy scrabble tile, bingo
piece and monopoly pieces) as well as vintage costume
jewelry and watch parts.
6. Using wax sheets can be fun and add interest. I used punched out squares to form
the word fly using a stylus to write the letters as well as a prop of sorts under
the mesh squares to raise them up from the painting. I melted a row altered 3
colors overlapping each square, on the top left of the "Bird" collage (top
left at top of this page). The wax sheets are very thin and melt very quickly.
Keep a heat gun a few inches from the piece you are adding. Place the wax
shape(s) on the picture and run the heat gun over them. I cut out a simple
black sheet dress and set it on the doll and melted it to curve to the dolls
body. Also, the mint green and rust windows in the collages above, were
actually the scraps I had after punching mini metal cookie cutter squares
from a large square, 3/8" apart (photo in step 5 above). Be creative and
I'm sure you will come up with more uses for the sheet wax!
7. Paper images are usually used in most collages and encaustic is no exception. I just find
color coordinated images I like (usually before I begin the collage!),
tear or cut them out, heat the wax area and set in place. Then, I go over the
image with some clean wax medium to seal it. The feather is actually an
image but I happen to have a real feather that looked the same that I stuck
out of the top right of the tin house (see 2nd photo step 4).
And Last but Not Least...Stenciling
1. To add a final touch to my painting (and often the focal point), I usually stencil last
(but I have planned the placement and design ahead so I leave solid
color space!). Here are a few samples of the stenciled areas. Simply lay the
stencil on the cooled painting (REMOVE from griddle), then hold carefully in
place. Have your wax paint color(s) already mixed with wax medium to
make it flow on, ready. Dip in small natural hair brush into the paint and apply
with the loaded brush at a slight angle. Do not tap it on like traditional
stenciling. You can lift a corner to make sure it is adhering. When
finished remove stencil. That's it, not top coat needed. If the wax seeps
under the stencil, simply scrape lightly to remove unwanted wax. You can
also add extra details like the feather lines on the bird, using a
medium stylus tool.
A little more inspiration is found in this Leaves painting. I simply heated Hot Sticks on
the griddle and dripped them on randomly, filling the painting area. I also
used wax paints dripping from the brushes. I swirled and mixed them to create
an abstract look of color. When cooled, I applied a solid layer of lime
wax over the bottom half and let that cool. Then, I used a large ball stylus
with a leaves stencil to outline the openings to remove just the green
layer, leaving the colors underneath showing. This was a fun one!
