Encaustic wax painting involves making patterns on card or wood with melted colored wax. The card is a sealed product, similar to photographic printing card. Commonly the the wax is shaped into forms that imitate landscapes, but they may be completely abstract. The iron is equivalent to the paintbrush. You use it to melt the wax, apply it to the paper and shape or mark it into patterns and lines.
Types
A bulky steam iron is not suitable for encaustic art.
Encaustic art requires an iron with a smooth, metal face plate without holes. Specialist encaustic irons have sensitive thermostats for precise temperature control. They have a proportionally large, hooked handle attached to a small, precision iron. However, it is possible to use a travel iron or old-fashioned, small domestic iron -- the type common in the 1970s. The only types of iron that you can't use are steam irons or irons with a Teflon coating. Not only is the steam function incompatible with the hot wax, but the holes in the iron's base would interfere with wax application and become clogged.
Features
A small iron with a smooth metal base works best.
The iron needs to have a low temperature setting. On domestic and travel irons, select the nylon setting. Smaller irons are preferable both for their lightness and greater precision. This is the main advantage of the specialist encaustic iron. The smaller, lighter and more pointed the apex, the greater the flexibility of use. Another feature of the specialist iron is that by removing and reattaching the handle, it converts to a mini hotplate. In this inverted position it serves as a painter's palette, holding a selection of molten waxes. You then apply the waxes not with the iron itself, but with palette knives and brushes. This is the technique preferred by advanced encaustic artists.
Using an Encaustic Iron
Gently rub a block of encaustic wax over the warmed faceplate to melt it. For a first background color, cover the entire face of the iron. For adding details, apply smaller amounts near the point or along the edge of the iron. You can apply two or three colors to the iron simultaneously for blended or marbled effects. Pressing the iron onto the card produces triangular peaks of color. Moving the iron with a sweeping action during application produces hills and waves. After wiping it clean, use the iron to add successive colors.
Iron Techniques
Running the iron horizontally across your land or seascape, its curved side shapes the horizon. If instead of smoothing the iron along, you place it down carefully and lift it off, suction will create fern-like or coral-like effects. This technique can produce assorted foliage and "feathered" textures. Use the edge of the iron to make lines in the wax, such as for grass stems or tree trunks. The very tip can create curved lines for flying birds. Encaustic art is highly experimental -- almost any pattern "works." With practice and experimentation any smooth-based iron can produce realistic mountain scenes, sunsets or seascapes.
