The substrate debate. For beginners, substrates can be one of the most confusing parts of photo encaustic art. With so many options and conflicting advice, it’s easy to feel unsure about where to start. The most important thing to remember: Choose a porous substrate—typically a wood panel. Many artists use manufactured boards, either flat or… Read More »Preparing Substrates for Photo Encaustic
Permission to Go Rogue: Creative Mark-Making in Encaustic Art When it comes to mark-making in photo encaustic, the possibilities are endless—and the tools are everywhere. Whether you wander through a kitchen store or a hardware store, you’ll find inspiration in every aisle. Think of this as your official permission to go rogue. If it can… Read More »Creative Mark-Making Tools for Photo Encaustic Art
Work with images you don’t love. I know—it sounds completely counterintuitive. If you’ve worked with encaustic for even a minute, you already know the truth: the process can be messy, unpredictable, a little chaotic… and absolutely intoxicating. Hot beeswax, the dance between translucency and texture, the carving, scraping, polishing, fusing—it becomes this push and pull… Read More »Transforming Ordinary Photos with Encaustic
I hear it all the time: “But I don’t have access to a studio.” And honestly? Most of us didn’t when we started. Sure, if you’re creating a 36×36 photo encaustic piece loaded with texture, a dedicated studio definitely helps. But when you’re learning the foundations—when you’re discovering how wax, paper, and image all come… Read More »How to Learn Encaustics from Your Kitchen Table
How do you print on tissue paper for photo encaustic? Whenever I explain that I print my images directly on tissue paper, I can instantly see the confusion. Most people imagine running a fragile, fluttery sheet of tissue through a printer—and understandably freeze at the thought. The secret? A carrier sheet. By taping your tissue… Read More »Printing Photos on Tissue Paper: A Simple Guide
I recently went back and reread the introduction I wrote for Open to Interpretation: Water’s Edge, and this paragraph hit me in a new way: As artists we have a human impulse to create art, as well as the human need to define or make sense of the work created. Artistic expression has long been… Read More »Inspiration Exercises for Encaustic Artists
You will be challenged. There’s no way around it. As artists, we’re irresistibly drawn to beeswax—the texture, the transformation, the luminous depth it brings to an image. But as magical as it is, encaustic photography has a learning curve, and you’ll feel it. Students in nearly every workshop say the same thing: “This is harder… Read More »What Every Beginner Should Know About Photo Encaustic
I’ve never been the stenciling type—actually, I’ve always avoided it. But recently, while wandering through a craft store, I stumbled across a gorgeous sheet of twirly patterned paper. Instantly, I thought: This would be perfect for stenciling. And I already knew the image I wanted to use—a seahorse. Pairing it with a stunning duochrome encaustic… Read More »Discovering Stenciling in Photo Encaustic
I often forget these images were shot underwater. By now the paintings have a life of their own and their origins are forgotten. The raw images in and of themselves are quite beautiful. But I only wanted to use the water as buoyancy for the clothes and nothing more. I realize now it’s an important… Read More »Underwater Images Reimagined in Wax