Making Wax Medium

PAINTINGS

Materials:
A pot in which to make the medium.
Containers to hold or mold the finished medium.
Heat resistant gloves
Wooden spoons
Candy Thermometer
Silkscreen fabric
Metal bowl
Metal colander
Ladle
Ingredients:
Beeswax
Dammar resin

How to Make Encaustic Medium

Directions:

First weigh the beeswax and dammar.

Encaustic medium can be made using different dammar resin to beeswax ratios. The higher dammar to beeswax ratio, the harder the resulting medium will be. My preferred ratio is 1 to 5, 1 lb dammar resin to 5 lbs beeswax.

Then pour about half the beeswax into a pot and melt completely. Reserve the other half of the beeswax to add later (after this first mixture has been strained).

I use a deep fryer with temperature control but a double boiler on a stove works fine also. Do not put the wax in a pan directly on the stove. Beeswax has a flash point around 470 degrees and can burst into flames. I can complete the process in a reasonable amount of time keeping the temperature between 200°F to 210°F Check temperature of the wax medium with a candy thermometer. **Caution: Do not heat above 250°F.

Why only half? The dirty resin needs to be combined with some, but not all of the beeswax to thin it somewhat before it can be strained. Since the beeswax doesn’t need to be strained, it is simply easier to strain half the beeswax at a time..

Once the beeswax is completely melted, add all the dammar resin.

Use a wooden spoon to stir occasionally. The resin will clump together and stick to the bottom.

Be patient. It takes a lot longer to melt the resin than the beeswax. Some recommend breaking up the resin rocks into smaller pieces. I do not see the value as it comes together into one soft blob once in the pot. Stirring shortens the melting time quite a bit as well as keeps the resin from burning on the bottom.

You’ll see that the resin (depending on the source) can be full of sticks, dirt, bugs, etc. These are trapped during the formation of the resin or mixed in during collection.

Prepare your strainer.

I use a large metal bowl (12” across and 6.5” deep) and a metal colander (10” across and 4” deep) which has handles that stick out 1 ½” on each side. The handles rest on the rim of the bowl leaving enough space underneath to accommodate the medium. I line the colander with a double layer of 16” x 16” pieces of silk screen fabric (230 mesh) and secure it with clothespins around the edge.

Carefully strain the mixture.

I use rubber tipped work gloves.

Wipe out the pot.

Pour the liquid medium back into the pot and add the remaining beeswax (the half that was reserved at the beginning of the process). Continue heating until all the beeswax is completely melted.

Prepare the molds.

I use tuna cans because I can just set the can on the hot surface while painting and discard the can when empty or reuse it the next time. I also use silicone muffin trays. They are costly, but enable me to easily pop the solidified medium out when it is solid. A cake pan can be used to mold the medium. Once it is hard, it can be un-molded then broken into pieces with a hammer.

Pour the medium into the molds using a ladle and you are done!