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 that’s both sensual and contemplative. It’s unlike anything else.
And that’s exactly why we fall in love with photo encaustic work. Something happens when wax and imagery merge. The photograph becomes deeper, more atmospheric, and more mysterious. It becomes its own story.
But here’s the hitch: as photographers, we often love our images too much. We remember the moment we captured them. We polished them in Photoshop. We think, “I don’t want to ruin this.”
Okay then—print those on fine art paper and frame them behind glass.
But if you want to work in encaustics—really work in encaustics—you have to let that attachment go. A thin coat of wax over a photo is not the magic of photo encaustic. The magic comes from being willing to take risks, to explore, to push past what you already know.
So here’s my best advice…..start with a photograph you don’t love.
Use an image that gives you permission to experiment. Push it. Distort it. Let the wax change it. Build layers that capture light in ways Photoshop never can. You’ll quickly see why people are so drawn to encaustic work—it has dimensionality and luminosity that can only happen when wax, pigment, and photography interact.
This is exactly why I teach the fundamentals of photo encaustic in my online course, The Artistic Image: Encaustic Photography. Inside, you’ll learn why certain images work better than others, how to prepare your prints, how to build your layers, and how to create that atmospheric depth that makes photo encaustic so seductive.
I was recently looking at a piece by Tanya Dobbs. If you saw her original photo, you’d probably scroll right past it. But when she brought it into the wax? It transformed. Suddenly it had history… mystery… soul. That’s what happens when you let go of perfection and allow the process to lead you.
And don’t forget—the beauty of encaustic is that if you push too far, you can always scrape back, fuse again, or start over. Nothing is wasted. Every attempt teaches you something valuable.
So start with an image you don’t love. And see where the wax takes you.
Tanya’s finished image. Thank you Tanya for allowing me to show your process.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Are you tempted to play it safe because you LOVE the image as it is? Is it easier to work on images you are less emotionally attached to?
Be well….be creative,
Ah, this is so true! Starting with an image you don’t love is an interesting way to approach it. For learning purposes, I’ve also discovered another trick. Once I “ruin” a photo I did love, I just say, “To heck with it!” and use it as an experimental board to see how far I can push it and play. Often I’ll end up with something totally abstract or a piece that looks more like a painting, with no sign of the original image in sight. Most of the time I do end up scraping or melting it off, but occasionally I end up with something I really like. Either way, as you say, I learned something new in the process. Thanks so much, Clare.
This is a fabulous image. I am trying to push myself a bit farther with my work as well. As always, thank you for your thoughts.
Thanks Clare. Excellent advice for all aspects of this medium.
Thank you Clare. The transformation of the image is striking.
I am in process of creating a piece for a coworker with one of his photos. I asked him if he wanted representational art or abstract or what? and he said . . . “just do your majic” and I said your giving me “license to thrill?”
So this came at the right time, as I am laying out my image on the substrate trying to decide how I am going to work it. My image has a lot of dark area as well so this is inspiring me to when I saw the outcome of Tanya’s work.
What a wonderful transformation. It is great to see what is possible with a photo that looks average. Tanya has made her work look amazing.
Appreciate the recommendation. Will try it out.