For better or worse, the last few months seem to have been spent painting Banners and Signs and Protesting with "The Poor People Campaign".
I have done some work on this EncausticProject, but not as much as I wish I had.
I have finished all the collage work on the Red Top Triptych, and covered the panels in clear wax. I still have problems with the milkiness of the coat of wax in the darkest areas. Since there had been problems with damaging the Photograpic Images while scraping the wax down, I am trying to just melt it with a heat gun and leave it alone:
I ordered a pound of bleached wax, and will try mixing some strained damar resin into it to see if it might be more transparent than the premixed Encaustic Medium.
Also, it seems that cooling the hot panel quickly in the refrigerator might help. It also allows me to get a higher shine, which translate ito more contrast and brighter colors. I bought a small fridge on sale at Lowes into which I can fit an 18" x 21" panel without the frame. I will from now on work on the plain plywood panels, and mount them later when finished.
But the best way to avoid the milkiness is to avoid the buildup caused by the thickness of the printing paper. After some research, I found a very light weight 32lbs Premium Matte paper made by Red River, and will be using it from now on. The finish is very similar to the Epson Ultra Premium Professionnal Matte Paper.
I have done some work on this EncausticProject, but not as much as I wish I had.
I have finished all the collage work on the Red Top Triptych, and covered the panels in clear wax. I still have problems with the milkiness of the coat of wax in the darkest areas. Since there had been problems with damaging the Photograpic Images while scraping the wax down, I am trying to just melt it with a heat gun and leave it alone:
I ordered a pound of bleached wax, and will try mixing some strained damar resin into it to see if it might be more transparent than the premixed Encaustic Medium.
Also, it seems that cooling the hot panel quickly in the refrigerator might help. It also allows me to get a higher shine, which translate ito more contrast and brighter colors. I bought a small fridge on sale at Lowes into which I can fit an 18" x 21" panel without the frame. I will from now on work on the plain plywood panels, and mount them later when finished.
But the best way to avoid the milkiness is to avoid the buildup caused by the thickness of the printing paper. After some research, I found a very light weight 32lbs Premium Matte paper made by Red River, and will be using it from now on. The finish is very similar to the Epson Ultra Premium Professionnal Matte Paper.
