Encaustic wax demonstration by Rosemary Carter

An interesting demonstration in a medium I had never seen used before.
A warm iron is used and the wax is melted onto the stainless steel surface ( the surface of the iron must not have holes it otherwise these will clog up). Too cold and it doesn’t melt, too hot and you get bubbles in it.
Shiny photographic paper is used and the wax is run across it with the colours depending on what effect is required. It can be buffed afterwards to make it shine. The beauty of the medium is that it is easy to iron off if it doesn’t work properly. Clear wax is melted on the iron and this is then used to remove unwanted areas.

 "You can get a feeling for the landscape and don’t have to put in all the details”.

A stylus is used to put details on the painting. This has a range of ends to create different effects. A sharp implement can also be used to draw into areas. Stencils, such as paper doilies can be used to get a  variety of results.

Rosemary said that she doesn’t really start with a plan but does lots of pictures and sees how they develop. She likes to use a bit of imagination.
After a knowledgeable talk and excellent demonstration members had a chance to experiment with the medium in the second half of the session.
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Examples of her work done on the night

Members practicing the skills demonstrated on the night