How Was Enastic Art Made How Was Encaustic Art Made

Waxes suitable for Encaustic Artwork

TERMS

PARAFFIN : DAMAR RESIN : CARNAUBA : BEESWAX : MICRO CRYSTALINE
Some of the main waxes used in basic encaustic formulation.

Encaustic paint needs to contain wax & color.
The quality of these components & the way in which ingredients collaborate defines the final character & behavior of the pigment.

* Since heat is the solvent for encaustic medium no evaporating solvents are needed. However there are enough of formulations to include evaporating solvents, only the resultant wax is and so a dissimilar type of paint. This site does non currently offer any information on solvent inclusive recipes or use.

The simplest encaustic paint could exist a bones mixture of beeswax and an earth paint. However, at that place are many other types of waxes, each with their own unique rut curve and character. In that location are also resins that can be mixed with waxes to alter final working qualities of melting point, flexibility, hardness, adhesion & durability. Pigments (and dyes) offer a multitude of qualities autonomously from the colour they imbue. The particle size can modify the flow character quite dramatically for some application methods. There are many possibilities in formulation.
Notation: All data here is only a starting betoken - the world wide web has loads of in-depth data on waxes, pigments and everything else, and then please inquiry it a bit more to analyze the notes beneath.

Chief WAXES USED IN MOST ENCAUSTIC PAINT MEDIUM FORMULATIONS

Primary waxes frequently used for encaustic medium involve: BEESWAX,
CARNAUBA,
MICRO CRYSTALINE,
PARAFFIN,
DAMAR RESIN,

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pelleted refined beeswax

pelleted natural beeswax

Definition of WAX : Any of diverse substances of either mineral origin or plant or animal origin; they are solid at normal temperatures and insoluble in water. OR Whatever of various natural, oily or greasy estrus-sensitive substances, consisting of hydrocarbons or esters of fatty acids that are insoluble in water simply soluble in nonpolar organic solvents.

Beeswax is a natural product produced by young bees in the form of wax scales. Cook signal around 62C. They reckon 8 volumes of love are eaten to each unit of beeswax secreted, and besides estimate that around 150,000 miles of bee flight are required to harvest 1lb of beeswax - precious indeed!

Refined beeswax, that has had all the impurities removed, often comes in pelleted form. It is a bleached cloudy whitish colour, but given sufficient time this will apparently harden and yellow to some caste or other.

In that location are various qualities of natural beeswax Information technology'southward most natural raw land is where it has been separated from the beloved and the main dross. It nonetheless contains some oils and dirt, then can exist blotchy if used for artwork. Electrical heating is used to commercially process beeswax, only solar heating is more gentle. In the latter method the beeswax can exist put through a solar unit many times, each ane helping to refine the wax without exposing information technology to any danger of over-heating. Modern commercial methods are very reliable.
* For encaustic medium refined wax is usually recommended but the natural production will produce a fine medium as well, just understand that it tin tint very pale colours like white quite noticeably.

Damar resin comes from a particular tree in Asia. This sample was nerveless in the Malaysian rain wood.

Information technology is refined to produce crystals that have a melting point around 80C. Some damar is whiter and therefore more suited to clarity of color in encaustic mediums. It is preferred over Mastic because it does not have the aforementioned flower issues. (white powdery surface effect- a chip like settled dust.)

It can incorporate quite a bit of woody dross. In encaustic medium it raises the melt signal, toughens the wax surface, improves both adhesion and flexibility. Information technology can smell quite strong when molten - always ventilate the area.

Carnauba wax is also a natural tree wax, this fourth dimension scraped off the leaves of a Brazilian palm tree. It polishes to a loftier sheen. It melts around 80C and is very brittle; hit information technology with a hammer and it shatters! For this reason it is less popular in encaustic medium than damar resin. Still, it can work very well despite calculation a breakable quality and does avoid the need for a resin. A modest amount can exist added to a damar mix to amend the concluding sheen of a finished encaustic painting. It is an option. Microcrystalline Wax is a petroleum based wax that has very different physical backdrop than alkane series wax. Micro wax is more dumbo and chemists tell united states it has closer packed molecules. When liquid it has a higher viscosity than paraffin and is more flexible. It demonstrates better adhesion, has a tougher surface and has a higher melt point than alkane series wax too. In that location are many qualities - often used for thick impasto effects.
Up to Alphabetize Paraffin wax is a petrochemical product. It is used in industry and often for candles. Information technology has a pleasant cloudy white color and our samples melt around 55C although it tin be mixed to different melt point likewise. 1 big negative is the shrinkage information technology displays once cooled. This can cause smashing or on weaker support materials tin cause buckling. Often not recommended for artwork, it is price effective and for large pieces can requite interesting results. A lot depends of your concerns regarding durability & permanence. If they are paramount don't use alkane wax - but information technology can have its identify also.

More than WAX VARIETIES THAT CAN BE USED IN ENCAUSTIC MIXTURES

Whilst the in a higher place are the most commonly used waxes in encaustic mediums in that location are others that tin can imbue different qualities. Experimental encaustic work does non ascertain itself by longevity nor gallery praise. It rests on its ain finality, on its own record of a journey through processes & ideas explored. Potential neither recommends nor excludes - it just explores openly.

This commercially manufactured wax was a microcrystalline based one. Information technology is no longer fabricated but they would non release the formulation - a pity because this mixture was great for impasto work and could happily be laid on 10mm to 20mm thick if desired. Still, maybe in the future other manufacturers will create new encaustic wax mediums with alternative qualities to the conventional beeswax and damar resin mixtures that are currently seen and held every bit the "platonic" standard.. Polyethylene waxes are manufactured from low molecular weight, high-density raw materials. Used in many industrial situations they have the wonderful possibility of being created with cook points ranging from 50C to 150C. And so you tin imagine how this stuff can influence the melting and handling of other waxes, including encaustic mediums. An interesting idea is to apply several different melt indicate mediums in the aforementioned piece, and then piece of work them with hot air tools to temperature sculpt through the various layers and textures - tin can be good! Nihon Wax is non i that looks very useful. It is cited equally a substitute for beeswax in polishes and so on. It melts effectually 53C so is low. It is on this page to demonstrate the sort of wax surface look to avoid, unless of course you desire random crusty white icing sugar effects in your piece of work. It is a natural wax merely without some experiments we can comment here no farther at this time. Methane series Wax has already been mentioned above, but it deserves a flake more infinite, simply because there are so many options within the paraffin and microcrystalline wax area. The cook points readily available (in the Uk at least) range from effectually 40C to 70C. The fully refined wax is a white colour, similar to the sample shown here. Clearer more translucent varieties are as well available. So for some types of transparent work these varieties may exist more useful. As already mentioned, where durability is important, especially in gallery fine art, where investment requires the work to remain close to its original country, then paraffins are usually not recommended. But candles seem to stay in good condition and they are paraffin wax, and so how permanent do yous need (and in the end how permanent is permanent anyway) ? Alkane series Wax comes in slab course too. These slabs weigh several kilograms each. They can exist broken to fit them into a melt pot. One of the major problems of methane series wax, apart from shrinkage issues and depression melt bespeak, is that the wax, when cold and at normal room temperatures, is relatively brittle and thus liable to chip or pause And so on any flexible surface information technology has potential to literally fall to pieces. So use with careful consideration! Microcrystalline waxes also get a bit more said here. This wax group are effectively in their crystalline class, so provide a denser and more than flexible textile. Tackier and more rubberband than the methane series grouping they are more useful and more reliable for artistic projects. They are tougher, and so are amend suited to resist knocks, scratching and flexing. At that place are hard and soft varieties with a good range of melt points available also. They practise tend to exist opaque. Plasticiser is a synthetic product used in candle making to reduce the breakable qualities within methane series wax. It makes the wax go more pliable at temperatures just below their melting bespeak and makes the final wax thicker once melted. In candle situations it is often added to enable sculpting of the candle's outer course whilst information technology is still warm. Alkane wax used for impasto work would benefit from this addition and it also has a college melt bespeak, and then that is ever a bonus for durability of encaustic surfaces in warmer climes.
Up to Index Stearin is too a candle making product and is added to the alkane series wax to increase shrinkage upon cooling. This is useful to candle makers for profitable release from molds. It is white and flakey in form, although it may exist purchased as pellets. If cracks and alternating wax qualities are being used to create differing "freezing points" and shrinkage values then it might notice a identify in your collection of waxy materials. NOTE: the candle dyes shown in the image have leached through the plastic bag into the wax. Candle dyes are very invasive in this respect.

SOME ENCAUSTIC WAXES IN MOLTEN STATE & DURING COOLING

Liquid wax, held at a prophylactic temperature in a metal welled palette (muffin tin) on a temperature controlled hotplate. Colour has been added, and so this is an encaustic paint gear up to use and ideal for brushes work. Cheque below for the terms relating to states of wax to discover more than almost the amazing transition from solid to liquid and the reverse. DO NOT OVERHEAT!!!! As wax cools information technology first congeals before so freezing. Information technology is withal more pliable the closer it is to that freezing / melt point. Yous tin see the transformation happening hither as the wax is cooling in the molds faster at the edges. The inner wax can all the same be molten when the outer surface has solidified, so it is always wise to place any cooling wax in a location where it will chill through before trying to de-mold information technology! Congealed microcrystalline wax is quite workable on a suitable support surface and will agree form rather than continually seek to level out similar a liquid would behave. This state makes it interesting for more impasto textured pieces. The drawback is that the congealed wax will freezing into a solid very easily on contact with a surface or tools that are likewise cool, only you can pre-warm these to lessen the problem.. The congealed wax is also interesting in that you tin can partially blend in pigments and other objects like sand or, well annihilation that you want to embed or envelop in the wax. Collaged layers, dimensional forms, many possibilities. The congealed state is a narrow temperature ring though, so operations demand to be carefully considered. The wax is still pretty hot too! A beeswax and damar encaustic medium in partial molten state. Hither you lot can see the transition from solid to liquid, as the wax passes through the congealed temperature zone into its liquid form. It is important not to overheat waxes. Apparently this can touch their chemistry and cause them to be more than brittle once cooled. The waxes should never exhibit "fuming". Fuming relates to ANY VISIBLE smoking or fumes. If yous oestrus with well controlled apparatus or a double banality (h2o peel prevents overheating) so all remains in a rubber operating mode. As the wax melts the liquid part side by side to the container can get quite a bit hotter than the melting edge of the remaining wax solids. An interesting design on cooling wax that clearly shows the temperature and state differences around this modest temperature band where the liquid is first congealing bore setting into its solid structure. Waxes in bigger molds tin take a long fourth dimension to thoroughly cool so best to leave them to arctic overnight if possible. Microwave containers are handy for pouring and storing wax medium. Some plastics are not suitable for heat usage. These smaller wax blocks of medium tin later be remelted when requires and mixed with paint every bit needed.
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Wax in its solid state volition remain in good condition for many years. Continue it dry and cool, away from hot moist dusty atmospheres for all-time results. If flower forms then heating beeswax above 38C will cause it to disappear. You lot can run warm water or blow it with a warm (not too hot) hairdryer. Ever buy the best quality waxes you can afford. Don't overheat them. Procedure them with intendance.

A FEW TERMS THAT Chronicle TO QUALITIES OF WAXES EXPLAINED

Cook Point : The melt indicate of a wax is the temperature that information technology starts to plough from a solid to a liquid, or from a liquid to a solid.

Flash Point : Temperature at which an excessively heated wax begins to vaporize and becomes a volatile gas. The vapors from molten wax are extremely flammable. Individual waxes take a specific wink signal - cheque suppliers for this information. When information technology reaches its flash signal information technology may not fume or chimera, it can but explode, splattering flaming wax in all directions. Don't use open flame burners to rut wax. Utilise controlled devices or ideally the double boiling method to melt your wax. Water boils at 212° F, which is well below the wink bespeak of all waxes we have experienced. As mentioned - bank check for technical information from your manufacturer or sourcing supplier.

Freezing Point : The freezing point is an established point ii to three degrees below the melting bespeak. A solid wax will remain solid, at varying hardness, as long as its temperature remains below the freezing point.

Congealing Bespeak : Temperature at which a wax begins to harden into a solid form. At the congealing indicate, liquid wax volition cease to flow under specific atmospheric condition.

Cloud Point : Temperature at which a wax begins to change color from articulate to opaque. The cloud indicate is an undefined point, from 2 to iii degrees in a higher place the melting bespeak, to x to 50 degrees in a higher place the melting point, depending upon the form of wax and the types of additives in the wax. The deject betoken is the temperature where liquid molten wax is beginning to change structurally and visibly from liquid to solid

Viscosity : Ability of wax to resist flow. The viscosity of wax is represented by a number that defines how a particular wax will menstruum at a certain temperature. The temperature and the viscosity of wax take opposing relationships. The college the temperature, the lower the viscosity, and the lower the temperature, the higher the viscosity. This means that a hot wax has a depression viscosity and will flow improve than a cold wax with a loftier viscosity.

Needle penetration : The hardness of a wax is measured by a standardized process called "needle penetration." It is an indication of how far a needle tin can penetrate the wax at a temperature of 77° F. The college the number, the softer the wax; the lower the number, the harder the wax. The penetration numbers vary from 1 to xiv (difficult waxes), to xv to 25 (soft waxes).

Wax Colour : Color of a wax at a designated temperature. The test is unremarkably done while the wax is in liquid form. The color is determined by comparison the wax colour to a standardized array of gage samples (Saybolt test). The color gage samples range in colour from a low number, (i.eastward. + 2, clear amber while molten, dark amber while solid), to a high number, (i.e. +30, crystal clear while molten, pure white color while solid). Generally speaking, the higher the color number, the lower the impurities in wax . Virtually all food course waxes accept a colour of +25 or greater.
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Merely Yous As well Demand COLOUR, SO VISIT THE Paint PAGES ...

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PIGMENTS

Visit this department to learn more near pigments.

... AND THERE ARE MANY READY-MADE ENCAUSTIC WAXES AVAILABLE Likewise !

Fix-Fabricated ENCAUSTIC WAX COLOUR PAINTS

Visit this section to see a selection of some of the fix made encaustic wax products "out there". Non all will exist available in your surface area. Some are no longer fifty-fifty fabricated, but it tries to show a range of what is going around.

encaustic.com offers the Encaustic Art range of wax block colours because they are effective and safe in use. They are used worldwide past all ages and abilities without toxic risk. Through instantly achievable techniques the interest and experience of encaustic art continues to spread with excitement and many satisfied users.

These purpose made encaustic fine art wax blocks are made to the highest standards possible and are designed to be safe to utilise by anyone. The pigments are equally low-cal-fast as possible yet nonetheless meet the strict toxic controls demanded and implemented in the Usa. They are labeled with the CL health characterization (caution label) which means that the waxes are condom in content but care needs to be observed when using them with the heated tools, only because these heated implements might inflict lite burns if carelessly handled. The waxes themselves are considered and tested by a professional U.s.a. toxicologist at "Duke" as prophylactic.

However, nosotros are very aware that they do not accommodate all needs nor meet all demands. In respect of that nosotros have used the experience of Michael Bossom to furnish this whole artwork area with some further approaches and materials. Here you can find information to help guide your own exploration in to making, colouring and using encaustic wax medium and encaustic paints successfully.
We promise it is useful for you.

Arts Encaustic Ltd, Glogue, Pembrokeshire SA36 0ED United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland

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Source: https://www.encaustic.com/techniq/fineart/fineart_waxes/fineart_waxes.html

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