ANCIENT ART OF ENCAUSTIC

Paintbox are offering a unique opportunity to learn about the ancient process of Encaustic Painting.  The 'Encaustic Masterclass' summer school is an intensive 3 day course that will equip students with all the skills needed to work with the medium independently and will explore the many diverse ways in which it can be used within the realm of painting.  To give you an idea of what the summer school entails read a bit about Encaustic Painting below.

The word encaustic comes from the Greek word 'enkaustikos', which means to burn.  It is the heat element of the process which is necessary for a painting to be described as encaustic.

​Traditional encaustic painting involves melting pure beeswax and adding coloured pigment. This molten colour is then applied to the surface to act as a base primer. A paste mix made from beeswax and turpentine is then mixed with oil paint to create an impasto type medium with which to paint.

Encaustic wax is mould resistant and will not yellow or fade with time.  In many cases paintings become more defined and vivid over time as the wax continues to harden. 
As well as using encaustic as a way to paint a surface it can also be used to stick and encase materials to a surface, and can be sculpted.​

Fayum Mummy Portrait

The art of encaustic has been around for 1000's of years with the oldest surviving examples of  encaustic panel paintings being the Romano-Egyptian Fayum Mummy portrait from the 1st Century BC.

Artist, Fritz Faiss (1905–1981), and Dr. Hans Schmid, rediscovered the Punic Wax technique of encaustic painting which is referred to in Ancient Greek writings.  Faiss held two German patents relating to the preparation of waxes in encaustic painting.

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Artist and tutor, Jemma Derbyshire, uses encaustic painting in a lot of her pieces. She enjoys the way colour can be layered and then scraped through to allow colour from deeper down to be revealed. ​

Jemma K Derbyshire

If you would be interested in this exciting summer school there's only a few places left!  It is running from the 9th - 11th of August at Cockenzie House, East Lothian.  Classes are 9.30am - 3.30pm each day with lunch and materials included for £240.

Book Now

Sources-
www.wikipedia.org
www.jemmakderbyshire.com