I took a one-day encaustic class at Gage Academy of Art here in Seattle, and discovered the technique of photo transfer on to beeswax medium. I went home and started to explore the possibilities of using my digital photographs in this new art. These images are the result of my exploration of this art.
I have a workbench setup with an electric flat griddle that I use to melt beeswax medium in a pitcher. I lay out a tarp on the garage floor placing a wood cradle on the tarp and proceed to pour melted beeswax medium over it, covering it with a thin layer of beeswax medium. I let the wax setup for a couple of minutes and then place a Xerox color print face down on the wax and gently burnish it into the wax. I then place the cradle in a plastic tray and pour water over it , then cover it with a damp cloth and burnish the image a bit more. I leave it covered for up to 15 minutes.
At this point, beginning at one corner, I start to remove the paper very gently with my fingertips, as to not damage the image. This takes some patience and time.
Once most of the paper has been removed, I pat the image dry and with a heat gun heat the wax to fuse the image to the beeswax medium. In the process any paper that was left basically dissolves. To finish it, I take a paintbrush and with melted beeswax brush a light layer over the transfer to give it texture and protect it, making it completely archival. These images are the result.
