Kandy Lozano in her eastside Portland studio.
Process
The history of encaustic dates back over 2000 years ago. The word encaustic originates from the ancient Greek word enkaustikos meaning “to heat” or “to burn.” Some of the earliest known encaustic works are the Fayum portraits from Greco-Roman Egypt to the contemporary work of Jasper Johns, in particular his iconic targets and flags, that hang in museums today.
The encaustic medium is particularly suited to my practice. Wax has surprising optical depth, so the history of my work is visible through discrete layers of wax fused with heat. As the artist, utilizing this layering process, I direct the “geology” of the painting. It’s always a bit of a surprise when the heat hits the wax. The subtleties of temperature, of specific pigment in response to the heat, of the distance the torch is from the surface-all affect the work differently. There is a delicacy and mystery to the surface, and yet it’s a material that stands up to scraping and to heat while providing the inspiration resulting in my work.
Encaustic is very process-intensive. I work with molten beeswax mixed with damar resin which is the element that raises the temperature of the paint and adds durability and luster. I work layer by layer, each uniquely individual to the previous in the way I add pigment or create marks in the wax surface with various tools. I use the torch like most painter’s use their brush to maneuver and manipulate the wax until it’s where I want it to be before going on to the next layer. Sometimes scraping back, sometimes adding more wax or color, it’s a gamble on whether to sacrifice that layer for the next. These conditions encourage me to take chances, to push the work, to embrace the accident as core to the final expression in my paintings.
Care instructions
Download instructions for caring for encaustic paintings. HERE (pdf)