The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax [Paperback]

Joanne Mattera (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 1, 2001

Encaustic is a waxed-based painting medium characterized by luminous color and a lush surface. It's an ancient art, dating as far back as Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, and today is enjoying a revival.

Here is the first comprehensive guide available on mastering this beautiful yet demanding medium. In The Art of Encaustic Painting, readers will learn surefire ways to achieve vibrant color and create surfaces that look as light as a wash or as densely textured as impasto. They will see how to produce effects from abstract to figurative to minimal. Finally, they will discover dozens of clear, step-by-step directions detailing how to use these various encaustic techniques in their own art.

This remarkable reference also includes 200 attractive full-color photographs of the author's own work, as well as stunning examples by such premier encaustic artists as Jasper Johns, Arthur Dove, and Nancy Graves.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

According to Roman historian Pliny the Elder, encaustic was used as early as the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E. It is made by melting beeswax with a small amount of resin and then adding pigment while the mixture is still molten. The artist works quickly out of the pot, for the wax begins to harden as soon as it leaves the heat source. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Jasper Johns was virtually the sole practitioner of encaustic. Today, thousands of artists have caught on to this ancient, luminous medium, yet most art lovers are still unaware of it. Mattera provides a fascinating history of the art and several excellent technical chapters on waxes, pigments, papers, brushes, etc. Studio safety takes high priority since, unlike quiet media like watercolor, this one brings with it the possibility of studio fires and wax burns. Though no book can capture the mutable incandescence of encaustic, this one provides enough inspiration and solid technical advice to kindle the interest of any artist. For a good history of the medium in America, see Gail Stavitsky's Waxing Poetic: Encaustic Art in America (Rutgers Univ., 2000).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Joanne Mattera is the author of several books, including Navajo Techniques for Today's Weaver (1975) and Rugweaving: Techniques for Two Harness (1979), both for Watson-Guptill. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823002837
• ISBN-13: 978-0823002832
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 121 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed information, great gallery April 29, 2002

By Angel Lee HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I have long been fascinated by the technique of encaustic painting and this book fills a void in references on the subject. It contains a vast array of detailed information on everything from making your own paints to exhibiting your artwork.

The book starts out with a history of encaustic art. A gallery section then showcases four different portfolios of art including representation, color and pattern, dimension and modular work. Captions include artist, title, materials used, size and date introduced. Artwork is displayed in a variety of sizes. Some of my favorites are a beautiful face by Tony Scherman and the organic looking "Miasma Morph" by Sylvia Netzer, made of wax with pigment fired on ceramic.

The next sections focuses on encaustic materials. It starts out with details on the wax types. A reference chart of all the wax types, their source, composition, properties, melting point, flash point, color range and average price is here too. Information on heating equipment and well as melting and fusing the wax are next. Then pigments and making your own paints is covered. Selecting and caring for brushes is also here. There is even a great section on using materials safely.

Painting preparation and techniques follow. These include information on substrates and grounds with step-by-step instructions on how to make your own. Recipes of rabbit-skin glue and gesso, as well as tips on using them are explained as well. Then techniques and tips for textured, smooth, scraped and incised surfaces accompanied by example artwork are given. There are also details on collage, mixed media, creating artwork on paper and making large-scale pieces. I loved the helpful answers common questions such as what are good beeswax mixes, what wax is best for glazing, how does one get rid of bloom and what do if you get a wax burn?

In the back of the book there are very helpful resource sections including supply sources, galleries, a glossary and bibliography as well as photo credits and an index. This book is an indispensable reference for anyone wanting to learn about and create encaustic art.

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Encaustic Painting April 14, 2005

By Joanne Mattera

Format:Paperback

All of the reviewers of my book, "The Art of Encaustic Painting," said quite positive things about it and most gave it five stars. Thank you, one and all. However for those two reviewers who described it as "cultish," I'd like you to know how I researched the book:

. I ran a classified ad for two months in Art News asking for "reproduction quality" images of strong encaustic painting.

. I searched the visual data base, maintained by a wax paint manufacturer, of the work of hundreds of artists who work in wax.

. I visited galleries in New York City and elsewhere for at least a decade, taking announcement cards and getting contact information.

. I found very little in the way of representational or figurative work. I did, of course, find some wonderful images, which I included in the book, but percentagewise, the number was small. And it was smaller still because some of the slides were not repro quality or the work did not have the boldness it needed to hold its own in print.

. On this last point--the boldness: By the time you see a work in print, it is many times removed from the original painting. Sublety gets lost, which is why I opted for bold, bright, luminous images.

Since the publication of "The Art of Encaustic Painting," I have found some wonderful figurative and representational painters. Or, should I say, they have found me. But to imply that I somehow selected images from limited group of artists when in fact I made a wide-ranging search, does a disservice to both the art and to me. The fact is that there ARE more artists working abstractly in encaustic that representationally.

If you work representationally or figuratively, I'd like to see your work. Send me a j-peg at [e-mail].

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent reference and advise, but a little cultish February 4, 2002

By Jim

Format:Paperback

My comments are those of an amateur, self-taught, new-to-encaustic, artist.

I found Joanne Mattera's book to contain more practical information on this exciting medium than any other source so far. The sections on "Preparation and Technique", "Materials for Encaustic", and to a lesser extent "Preparing and Exhibiting Your Work" are especially beneficial.

There is plenty of help on mixing-your-own wax, tools, supplies, and ideas. It is not a Step 1-2-3 How To Paint book.

The "Porfolios" chapter leads you to believe encaustic is only for the abstract artist. She addresses this issue by stating, "Only a small percentage of contemporary encaustic painting is pictorial, etc...", and with the inclusion of a couple non-abstract images. I get the impression most works are by a select clique of fellow artists. As I paint mostly abstracts myself, the examples were fine. However, the Portfolio would have conveyed this mediums versatility more completely if works of impressionists, such as Dorothy Masom and others, would have been included.

It is a book every aspiring encaustic painter should have. Along with "Waxing Poetic:Encaustic Art in America during the Twentieth Century" by Gail Stavitsky. ...