I was inspired by a piece currently displayed in the Leicester Society of Artists exhibition at New Walk Museum in Leicester to look into the whole technique of encaustic and oils. A quick and dirty Google/YouTube search showed the basics: layers of molten beeswax sandwiching and fusing with oil paints and other inclusions (such as the silver glitter in my piece). So I got out my trusty Melt Pot from Ranger, added white beeswax and got going on my first piece last night. I’m rather pleased with the results: melting the wax between layers was quite an art, as too much heat will move the oil paint, too little and fusing with previous layers doesn’t work. All the time it’s being worked, the opacity of the wax varies and it isn’t until fully set and cool that the final opacity is apparent. I love the abstract nature of the piece and the clear layering within it. A tricky technique to master I suspect, but one that I’m going to follow up.