Encaustic is one of the oldest forms of painting. Maybe even the oldest. It is a process of mixing beeswax with damar resin and pigment. Each layer of paint, each brush stroke has to be fused with heat. The word encaustic means "to burn in." Encaustic must be painted on a solid surface. A fabric canvas simply will not last. Unless it is first applied to wood.

The longer an encaustic painting ages the sturdier it becomes. The wax and resin go through a process of settlement. A kind of marriage. That becomes more solid with age.

Encaustic can be scratched just as acrylic oil or resin can be scratched. But with encaustic, a scratch can be buffed out. As with all forms of art, please do not expose encaustic to direct sunlight. Doing so results in fading of paint pigments.