Encaustic Art

The definitive guide on creating encaustic art, an ancient medium that is increasingly popular with contemporary fine artists.

With a history that stretches back to the hauntingly beautiful mummy portraits of Greco-Roman Egypt, encaustic art is now enjoying a renewal of popularity among artists and art lovers alike. Today, museums are staging exhibitions of encaustic art, workshops in the technique are thriving, and art collectors and dealers are assimilating encaustic art into their collections and galleries.

The word encaustic is taken from the Greek and means “to burn in.” In the encaustic process, pigmented wax is applied and then fused to a surface with heat. The result is a broad range of surface effects and a luminous translucency that is unique to the encaustic medium. Encaustic Art is a complete resource for artists who wish to learn to create fine art with wax. It features step-by-step techniques with easy-to-understand instructions and detailed illustrations, stunning examples of encaustic works of art (including sculpture), along with practical advice and thoughtful aesthetic observations from more than 60 professional artists working in the encaustic medium.

Author Biography

LISSA RANKIN’s encaustic paintings and sculptures are represented in prestigious galleries and museums in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. During her artistic career, she has developed an international reputation as an expert on encaustic and has been invited by a variety of art schools, conferences, workshops, and artists’ retreats to speak on encaustic art. Trained as an OB/GYN physician, her art reflects life’s events, such as birth and loss, and her continued work as a physician breathes life into her art.