I specialize in "All Things Wax". I work in encaustics and cold wax/oils. Encaustics is a wax-based paint, composed of beeswax, dammar resin (tree sap), and pigment (analogous to those used in oil paints). Molten, the wax is applied to a rigid, absorbent surface, and then heated to fuse each layer, building dozens of layers to create a translucent, 3-dimensional quality to the artwork. It is an ancient technique used for Fayum portraits as far back as 100 AD. Encaustic means ‘burn-in’. Swapping out paint brushes for fire and flame, encaustic is a challenging and exciting medium to work in. Like encaustic, cold wax medium has beeswax, is ideal to layer, and is great for additive and subtractive methods. Unlike encaustic, cold wax painting does not require heat. The layers are added with brayers, brushes, palette knives, squeegees, and removed with pottery tools, metal scrapers, etc. The final effect is complex, physically or visually textured, and the results show the rich history.