DIY Network

Painting With Wax From "DIY Crafts" episode DIC-148

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Practice the basic techniques of painting with wax, using multiple colors and a hot iron. Figure A Figure B Figure C This note card was created by rubber-stamping the image of a dolphin and painting on the sky and sea with hot wax. Figure D Figure E Figure F Figure G Figure H Design a small landscape scene using the hot-wax painting technique. Figure I Figure J Figure K Figure L Using the hot-wax-and-iron technique, Michael Bossom created a larger landscape scene in just 3 minutes. Figure M Figure N

The word encaustic is derived from a Greek word meaning to burn in. It describes an art dating back to ancient Egypt that uses heat as a fixative on pigmented wax. Welsh artist Michael Bossom of Encaustic Art will get you started in this freestyle art, using modern tools such as an electric iron, special wax (usually beeswax with intense pigments) and nonabsorbent paper.

You'll need to practice in order to get a feel for the effects you can achieve. Start with an abstract design, and play with various possibilities. Once you've mastered the use of the iron, you can venture on to landscapes. Crafters who have experience in painting with a palette knife may notice a few similarities of movement and techniques.

Materials:

Small, smooth shiny-bottom iron with temperature control
Wax (usually beeswax) in a variety of colors
Nonabsorbent paper or poster board
Waxed paper
Clean soft cloth

1. Place a sheet of nonabsorbent paper on a sheet of waxed paper.

2. Heat the iron to a low, constant temperature and "load" the iron with various colors of wax. They may be placed side by side, in layers or bands. Try putting on clear wax first, then adding color. Try many colors to produce different effects (figure A).
   

3. Place the iron wax side down on the nonabsorbent side of the paper, and drag it across the paper, lifting when you get to the other side (figure B). Set the iron back down on the paper over the top of the wax you've already applied. You'll see that the iron has further melted some of the wax on the paper and made an imprint of the iron. Repeat several times to see the effect (figure C).
   

4. Practice dragging, swirling and dabbing movements with the iron. At the same time, vary the ways you load the iron. Use a few colors or several. Try using the various parts of the iron -- including the edges and tip as well as the bottom. Clean the bottom of the iron by wiping it across paper towels (figure D).
   

5. Let the picture cool, and buff the surface with a soft cloth. The wax will take on a luster that adds to the effect of the picture.

Now that you're familiar with the techniques of creating encaustic art, Michael Bossom explains how to create three different pictures. First he adds a sea environment around a rubber-stamped dolphin image. Next he creates a small pastoral landscape. Finally, he creates an entire sky and landscape picture in 3 minutes.

Materials:

Dolphin rubber stamp
Rubber-stamp pad
Small, smooth shiny-bottom iron with temperature control
Wax (usually beeswax) in a variety of colors
Nonabsorbent paper or poster board
Waxed paper
Clean soft cloth

Dolphin Picture

1. Stamp the dolphin image on nonabsorbent paper and let dry. Place the paper on a sheet of wax paper (figure E).
   

2. Spread clear wax on the entire bottom of the heated iron. Add two colors of blue wax onto the clear wax in a freeform "scribble" fashion near the tip of the iron (figure F).
   

3. Glide the iron over the paper, "shuffling" it back and forth to mix the colors a bit on the paper. Position the colors so that blue wax is applied to the paper above the dolphin image. Then, gliding the iron from left to right, wipe it across the paper a few times to blend the colors (figure G).
   

4. Wipe the bottom of the iron clean. Scribble two colors of blue on the iron, and dab the iron on the paper a few times below the dolphin image. Let the picture dry, and buff lightly with a soft cloth (figure H).
   

1. To create a landscape scene, place a sheet of nonabsorbent paper on a sheet of wax paper.

2. Apply green wax to the bottom of the iron from the tip down, approximately one-third of the way down the sole plate, and stroke brown wax to the top half of one edge of the iron (figure I).
   

3. Swipe the iron across the lower half of the paper from left to right and right to left three or four times, moving from the horizontal center of the card downward to create a pasture (figure J).
   

4. Lightly touch and lift the iron across the lower left corner to create a marsh area (figure K).
   

5. Using the edge of the iron, drag through the wax vertically, pulling upward to add reeds and grasses growing from the pasture (figure L). Finally, add a bird to the sky by carefully using just the edge of the tip of the iron to form a V. Use two strokes, starting from the center of the V and moving outward. Let the picture cool, and buff the wax surface with a soft cloth.
   
   

1. Place a sheet of nonabsorbent paper on a piece of waxed paper.

2. Load the iron with white wax, and scribble yellow, rose and blue wax over the white. Wipe it across the top third of the page, and go back over to blend colors for a soft sky (figure M).
   

3. Create mountains by putting dark green on the edge near the tip, medium brown below it and dark blue below that. Starting where the mountain range is to begin, place the iron down, and move it in a jiggling motion up and down as you move it to the side. This movement will create a range of jagged mountaintops (figure N).
   

4. Without reloading the iron, wipe the iron through the green, spreading it across the page for the green portion of the center of the mountains.

5. Wipe the iron clean, and load it with white wax. Scribble on yellow, rose and blue wax, and wipe the iron from side to side under the green to create water. Load the entire bottom of the iron with dark green wax, and wipe it from left to right to create the foreground. Apply light brown wax to the iron, and swipe the iron over the top of the green. Apply royal-blue wax to the iron, and dab over the green and brown colors. Use the edge of the iron in upward strokes to add grasses. Let the picture cool, and buff with a soft cloth.