Have you already read my tutorial on Getting Started in Encaustics and Making Your Own Paints? Have you already picked up all your encaustic supplies? Then read on….

Transferring images onto wax is easy! First, prepare your surface with an even layer of encaustic paint or medium. Fuse, fuse and re-fuse until it is nice and flat. (A separate tutorial on creating a smooth encaustic surface is forthcoming…)

Next, grab your photocopy. For the transfer to work, the image must be either a regular photocopy or printed from a laser printer (no inkjet prints). I find that the older the copy machine, the easier it is to transfer the toner to the wax. However, newer copy machines tend to give a better resolution copy, which is good for pictures with intricate detail. If you are lucky, you can find a machine that manages to meet both criteria – not too old, not too new. If your image contains text, don’t forget to reverse the picture with the copy machine otherwise your words will be backwards!

In this example, I only want to transfer part of the picture so I cut out the portion I’m interested in using.

Place the photocopy face down on the wax, preferably while the wax is still slightly warm from fusing.

Firmly burnish the back of the photocopy into the wax with a spoon, taking special care to thoroughly rub all over the bumpy or uneven areas. I find it helpful to cover the photocopy with a layer of wax paper before rubbing it. This prevents me from accidentally ripping apart the cut out with an overzealous swipe of the spoon. It also seems to minimize the severity of my “spoon” marks on the wax. To ensure complete and total burnishing of the entire image, I burnish from left to right, from top to bottom, from corner to corner and vise-versa.

Next, rub the back of the image with a cotton ball filled with acetone. Don’t have acetone on hand? Use a bottle of plain, cheap finger nail polish remover instead. Remember to follow proper safety procedures and work in a well ventilated area (see Venting Your Studio).

Keep soaking the paper until you can start to see the image on the other side.

Continue soaking it with acetone. The paper will start to wrinkle when it has separated from the toner.

At this point, you can start lightly rubbing the paper with your finger and pulling it away from the surface.

Keep rubbing and re-wetting the surface until you can start to see the image. Please note that some artists use water to transfer an image. Although I haven’t tried that method, it seems like you could substitute acetone with water once you’ve reached this step. Since acetone evaporates so quickly, water could help quicken the removal of the paper by keeping it moist longer.

Even when you are being careful, sometimes little holes appear in your image because the toner didn’t completely adhere to the wax, you failed to burnish that particular microscopic spot or you pulled the paper away too quickly. As you practice more encaustic transfers, these holes will happen less frequently. In this case, I’m not overly cautious while removing the paper because I like the look of the holes on this piece.

Don’t worry if you can’t remove every single speck of paper from the wax. These remnants can be “fixed” by lightly fusing the image. The heated wax will absorb the bits of paper, thus making it look almost completely transparent. You can also intentionally (or unintentionally) warp the image on the surface by fusing it too long.

All done! Wasn’t that easy?

Lear Jet Out of Fuel. 8 x 10. Encaustic, oil, image transfer on panel. © 2008 Haley Nagy.

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Are you interested in painting with encaustics?

Are you just a casual internet browser who stumbled upon my website? Here’s where to start!

Step 1:

Education. Want to teach yourself? Buy and read “The Art of Encaustic Painting”by Joann Mattera. This is the most accurate and up to date guide on encaustics that has been printed in the last 50 years (not to mention, one of the only books still in print). You can find it used for $14; new for $29.95… it’s worth every penny. Rather take a class? If you live in the Austin area, I suggest you contact Sharon Kyle Kuhn. She has been teaching and working in the encaustic medium for many years and owns a gallery which frequently showcases local encaustic painters. She’s a great way to get your foot in the door… or, more accurately, to get your fingers in the wax. Outside of Austin, check the R&F Paint website – they host workshops throughout the U.S.

Step 2:

Supplies. You can see a money saving list of the best supplies on my Encaustic Supply page. Everything else you need can be ordered online from R&F Paints and most of it from Dick Blick Art Supply or Jerry’s Artarama. If, like me, you are on a budget, here’s a list of less expensive tools you can substitute:

$). Instead of the $200+ heated palette, I purchased a $25 electric skillet from Target. Make sure it has an accurate temperature control. No iron! This will work if you only want to paint with encaustics and have no immediate plans to make large encaustic prints.

$). I got 3 galvanized steel pots for .99 cents from Ikea. Go even cheaper and use leftover tuna cans!

$). Can’t afford to buy the expensive containers of pure Sennelier pigments? In small quantities, you can substitute melted oil bars from your local art store for pigment.

$). Remember: Heat and plastic don’t mix! No synthetic/plastic paintbrushes or palette knifes. Looking for something cheap to mix your paints with? Try those free wooden stir sticks from your local Starbucks!

$). Check your local thrift store for used muffin pans and sauce pots with a pour spout on the side. It doesn’t have to be pretty if the price is right!

The most expensive item you’ll have to purchase is the heat gun. Unfortunately there’s no substitute tool out there (no, your hair blower won’t work). Thankfully, my local Jerry’s Artarama employee took pity on me and signed me up for their mailing list… which, coincidentally came with a 40% off coupon for one item. I love you Jerry’s! You do have the option of working with mini blow torches and such – though most beginners (myself included) are wisely weary of open flames. You’ll find the heat gun is well worth the cost. Feel free to experiment other heat tools (irons, etc.) once you’ve got the hang of it.

Step 3:

Safety. Read the attached document on Venting Your Studio for Encaustics. It’s important and it’s also easy to do! (It basically involves a cheap fan and an open window, so there’s no excuse not to do it). I further recommend you spend the little bit extra to buy soy wax for cleaning your brushes (as apposed to parrafin). It’s cheaper, safer and better for the environment. You should also take comfort in the fact that encaustic paints are one of the safest, non-toxic art mediums around.

Keep checking my website for updates. I promise to continue to post what I’m learning about the medium (you learn something new everyday, right?).

These are the basic ingredients for starting painting in encaustics. I made those encaustic paint cakes myself! I’ll go into details in a future blog…

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