Comments on: Encaustic 101: Image Transfers

By: Alice Anne

Alice Anne — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:36:49 +0000

Hello Haley,

Could you recommend a place to purchase handmade Japanese papers for an ink jet printer? Hiromi International is a great place, however, the lightest weight handmade paper did not disappear into the wax layers. Do you also know of any printer who specializes in printing on handmade paper? I am experimenting with fusing one layer over these paper textures. I want to transfer my digital photo images on handmade paper. What additonal encaustic techniques can you employ with water transfers?

Being a former papermaker and paper sculpture lead me toward photoencaustic with handmade Japanese papers. There appears to be 2 methods: 1.) Gluing the paper to the substrate.
2.) Using thin paper like Japanese tissue which disappears into the wax when fusing additional layers.

Thank you for any information!! So appreciated.
Alice Anne

By: Haley Nagy

Haley Nagy — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:25:36 +0000

You probably could, but I would discourage you from using plain old wax in your artwork. The difference between wax and encaustic is the addition of resin, which raises the melting point significantly for encaustics. Wax by itself (without the resin) is much more susceptible to damage – it’s too soft (scratching and nicking become an issue) and temperature sensitive. In fact, it is so soft, you might have a hard time burnishing the photocopy into the wax without damaging the surface. Still, you probably could transfer an image using just plain wax – but please be careful it’s pure beeswax and not any of those industrial waxes with chemicals in them!

By: Sofia

Sofia — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:58:05 +0000

Could you do this transfer method with just plain old wax?

By: Ruth Maude

Ruth Maude — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:52:02 +0000

Hi Hayley. Nice post. I find that just plain water works perfectly without the chemical stink. I get my encaustic medium from http://www.waxworksencaustics.com and then mix in my own oil paints for colour.

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:58:44 +0000

I like doing image transfers, although I have never done them onto wax – I use acrylic medium onto paint or gesso. I prefer the ‘feel’ of the more broken up images too. They make great ATCs although it’s time consuming.

By: Haley Nagy

Haley Nagy — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:03:54 +0000

Thanks Amy! Unless you want to jump right in and make your own medium, I recommend R&F Paints (http://www.haleynagy.com/resources/). I’ve also got some great (modest, right?) tutorials for beginners on my website… if you are interested in learning more about how to GET the wax ONTO the panel. he, he. I’d start here: (http://www.haleynagy.com/2008/08/10/encaustic-101-getting-started/). Feel free to ask me questions… I’m so happy you are interested!

By: Amy Osborn

Amy Osborn — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:54:21 +0000

I love this! I’m going to try it!! Where do you get your wax? Are some waxes better than the other??

I’m loving your new stuff!!

By: Carrie Goller

Carrie Goller — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:12:05 +0000

Great job Haley! I think acetone works better than water. I usually coat first with acetone then when thoroughly soaked, use water to rub off the paper. There are also methods to transfer using Golden medium and an inkjet print. It makes a “skin” transfer onto the encaustic.

By: Haley Nagy

Haley Nagy — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:36:01 +0000

Sari, Thanks for the comment. In answer to your question, after transferring the image onto the surface I lightly fuse it with the heat gun. The wax underneath absorbs the most of the toner. This helps protect the image from rubbing off at the slightest scratch. It also seems to increase the intensity of the black color.

The lightfastness of toner varies. Here’s an informative article on the topic: http://www.vam.ac.uk/res_cons/conservation/journal/issue30/photocopies30/index.html. I try to research the particular brand of toner/copier before using it, but that info can be hard to come by.

If you cover the transfer with a very light layer of clear encaustic medium it shouldn’t obscure the image too much, but I would test it on a sample transfer first to see how you like the results. Make sure the surface has cooled before you add hot wax… otherwise your brush might wipe the image straight off! This additional layer will lock the image in an airtight space… thus removing one of two traditional factors for yellowing materials with acidic content (air and light). This also protects the transfer from moisture. Still, some toners are light sensitive. When I sell an artwork, I always include information about avoiding direct sunlight in the documents on caring for encaustics.

By: Sari

Sari — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:17:47 +0000

Hi Haley. Your tutorial was extremely helpful – thank you. One question – do you put a clear layer of medium on top of the ink transfer? I’m not sure what to do since the clear layer on top diminishes the intensity of the image somewhat, but I don’t think I want to leave it bare – the ink can rub off and is not light-fast so will fade over time if not covered.