I had visitors in the studio yesterday and as they were helping me set up large works on the wall they asked me why I was rubbing my hand over the painting.
“I’m making it shine,” I replied. They watched silently and then in unison came the “wow”.
What is Wax Bloom?
What I was doing was rubbing away the wax bloom that develops on encaustic paintings. If you’ve ever worked with colored pencils you may have noticed it there too. Prior to encaustic painting I worked quite a bit with colored pencils. Same condition occurred soon after the work was finished. Waxy bloom was an accepted element of working with colored pencils and for that matter, encaustic!
According to Prismacolor, a maker of colored pencils….
“Wax bloom is a natural oxidation process of wax-based materials, just like rust is an oxidation of iron. It appears as a cloudy white film over a drawing or color lay down.”
But unlike colored pencils, do not apply a fixative to an encaustic painting!
I wait a day or two before I give it a good buffing up. When it is nice and shiny it is ready to be photographed and presented to buyers. Overtime, the painting will “cure” and the need for buffing won’t be necessary.
It’s a good idea to check your painting carefully every few months to see if there is a cloudy appearance to the surface. To remove the cloudiness get a cotton cloth, (shop towels work well) or any cloth that won’t scratch the surface, and wipe gently over the surface of the paintings. You’ll know how much pressure to use when the “bloom” begins to disappear.
I often use the palm of my hand to “warm off” the bloom. Being a tactile, hands on person, I love caring for my paintings in this way.
A little embrace, a “hello I see you” a thanks for lighting up my life!
You say to never use a fixative over encaustic. Does the same apply if you use an oil pastel or pan pastel over the wax? How would you keep the pastels from smudging?
Hi Fletcher. Once you start adding mixed media to encaustic it’s good to test out the materials beforehand.
I do use pan pastel in paintings and it’s a beautiful effect. I still don’t use a fixative. No matter what you put down on encaustic, it’s good practice to always torch; even if it’s a light torch.
After I apply the pan pastel, I take a large hake brush and lightly brush away the loose pastel. I follow up with a light torch and often a layer of encaustic. This will help with the smudging.
I do the same with oil pastel but may not cover up with encaustic. Know that the oil pastel will take a long time to dry.
Hope this helps!
Francesca