WOW...you've started quite an inquiry on this board. I sense that you are experimenting/exploring different ways of making art. Where encaustics are concerned, I learned it the old way and burned...rather set aflame several works...lol. I was trained to use torches. I've learned to tailor the medium to what is available today. Although, I paint with oils and tend to suspend my own pigments, I've applied these very same methods to encaustics.
Someone told me once that, in order for him to setup an encaustic studio, it was going to cost him about $3K. My answer was, "That's a bunch of hogwash." A true artist will learn and modify the medium to create successful works. If you are interested in learning my approach to encaustics, read on.
Essentials in an encaustic studio:
Burlap wrapped onto wood panel...Burlap is the best material for encaustics as the wax will work itself into the fibers. You can also do it directly onto wood panel, but risk it popping off if the proportions of medium (wax, linseed oil and paint thinner) is a little on the "fat" side...same with if it is on the "thin" side.
Presto Deep Fryer...the plug-in kind can be had for about $18 bucks, new...if you want to risk your safety, get it at a thrift store for about $3 bucks. It has to be a deep fryer as it heats up fast, don't use a Crockpot Slow-Cooker...the tradename ought to be a hint! I used to share a studio with a woman who wanted to learn my methods, she brought one of those Crockpots in...she quickly learned that it took too long for the water to even begin to boil.
Soup cans that will fit in the deep fryer...not all at once, maybe two or three at a time. This should facilitate a pallette from which to work, as the wax need to be melted to paint with it.
Wax...Beeswax, parafin, etc. I have a simple formula I've developed that works wonderfully. I will try to remember to post it next time I'm online, or if somebody will remind me via e-mail to: angelmaker.la@verizon.net.
Linseed oil, buy it by the quart or gallon, it's cheaper! When I buy it by the quart, I pay about $8 to $11 bucks per bottle.
Pigments...for beginners, I recommend the cheap student grade oilpaints that is available in monster tubes of 10 oz. or more. For the more experimental...dried horseshit produces a wonderful colour, as with dried cowshit. Grind it and once it is suspended in any medium, you'll get the best sepia-tone available and it's free! I met an artist in Venice Beach who grinds her own pigments from natural minerals (rocks/ores) from her travels. The farthest I travel these days is to a local stable where I learned that horsedung is a valuable colour...lol...it's available in different shades that vary from green to umber...Seriously! And they are lightfast (won't fade or change over time). Of course, I keep ground pigments on hand in my studio, but they are very expensive...cobalt blue alone can cost about $40 bucks for a small amount. Honestly, I think art can be more expensive than a drug habit...LOL. I am actually encouraging you to explore the world of pigments. Potato with iodine will also give you a pretty terrific violet...once dried, ground and suspended in a medium, it is as archival as expensive tube-paints.
Several flatware spoons...the thicker the handle, the better. DONOT USE SILVERPLATED SPOONS...common sense alone ought to let you know that the heat transmission of silver is very...how shall I put it...ahh, efficient! Hold the spoon directly at the mouth of the heatgun for about ten seconds and use it like an obscure iron. Heat it some more and wipe clean with a rag...presto, it's ready for the next application...or you can just use another spoon. You can also paint with brushes with this method, and quickly heat the brush (to get rid of the excess back into your soupcan of same colour) before dunking into turps for cleaning.
Have some kind of large thick metal plate as a place to rest the spoons to facilitate cooling faster...it will act as a heatsink. An old wheel rotor ought to do it. Just make sure it is clean and free of grease. Scrub it with Ajax or TSP and rinse it several times.
And are you ready for the fun part? HEATGUN. Last I had to buy one, it cost me $21 bucks at Wal-Mart. You can just imagine the different ways you can apply heat with this wonderful tool. Hold it with the spoon in front of it to heat areas of the painting. It will deflect the jet of air away from your painting. Of course, allowing the jet of hot air can produce some very nice nuances in the painting...especially when you have a layer on top of another colour. Experiment with it! Remember, heavier pigments will sink...so maybe try putting a thin layer on top of a lighter weight pigment and apply the jet of hot air until it starts to react...This is produces a very nice finish/texture.
Oh...and a cheap clamp light with a 100 watt bulb in it. You'll need it to slow the cooling of the wax, so that you can work on it a little more. You can suspend it from a rope above so you can position it over your painting as needed. You might not even have to do this if you are decisive with your work.
Hogsbristle brushes...to paint with.
And next time you order Chinese, Thai or Japanese food, grab a few of those wooden chopsticks...they are handy for mixing pigment into medium, so you won't gum up pallette knives.
You premix your medium in a larger can (I use a pineapple juice can for this) and heat it first everytime you work, that way, you can spoon the melted medium out of the can to mix into the pigments in smaller cans as you go. You will need to periodically switch the cans around in the deep fryer with boiling water. Adjust the heat down to just above boiling temp to keep the water hot, but not constantly bumping. Don't worry, since there is no open flames involved, it is a safer process. Besides the cans of melted wax are in water. Just be careful of filling the deep-fryer with water too high, that when you put the soupcans, the water spills over when it is "bumping." This is the term for boiling liquids in inorganic chemistry. The danger here is electrical, so avoid spilling water on the heat element of the deep-fryer.
A pencil torch...the kind you refill with butane. This is for super fine detail work. Last I had to get one, I ended up buying three. I found them at a local 99-cent store fo guess what? 99cents each! Use it and barely get it close to the works. The heat from the flame alone will begin melting the wax even before you get it close enough to touch the wax. Again, DONOT TOUCH THE FLAME ONTO THE WAX...remember what I opened this posting with...YOU CAN BURN A WORK! THis is the main reason why I use it sparingly.
Mineral spirits for clean-up and thinning down the medium. Also, turpentine for cleaning your brushes.
Avoid using an iron as many will tell you to do. I, in looking at these some of these works, find the resulting finish to be a little too kitschy-crafty.
One of current works in my studio involve encaustics. It is based on a small etching I printed in the viscosity method and have won several awards with it. Because it is so old, I can't enter them into juried shows anymore; hence, I decided to translate them into individual encaustic paintings.
Let me know when you're ready for more help...I need to get off the puter now...send me an e-mail if you need the formula, I sense that you are an adventuresome artist, and will probably try to figure out your own formula. I encourage it! For the rest, I offer this lesson for free, as I believe in encouraging artists to delve into new ways of making art. Let me know if you want the formula...it'll cost you only the enthusiasm to work in your studios!
