Encaustic Pictorialism

“Encaustic Pictorialism” is my term for combining my original digital photos with the ancient art of encaustic painting to create unique images in the Pictorial style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  In the early days of photography, photographers were criticized as not being artists because all they had to do was push the shutter button and the camera did the rest.  (Yeah, we still hear that garbage today).  The Pictorialism movement was an attempt by photographers to counter that criticism by making their photos look more “painterly” by, e.g., smearing Vaseline on the lens, smearing the wet photo negatives and other means. 

Today we have digital tools to manipulate an image but I want each of my images to be uniquely hand made. The process starts with an original photo printed on lightweight rice paper.  The printed image is layered onto a hard substrate (usually a cradled wood board) that has been treated with encaustic medium.  Heat is applied to the paper resulting in the encaustic medium rising and enveloping the paper.  The process causes the thin rice paper to virtually disappear leaving only the image visible.  The image looks like it’s floating on the encaustic medium, giving it a 3-D effect.  Additional images may be layered on using the same technique. 

The next step is to add contrast and/or color by applying encaustic paints, pigment sticks, oil pastels, pan pastels and/or other elements. 

The final result is a one-of-a-kind piece of art that I hope you’ll be proud to display in your home.