beeswax + tree resin + earth pigment + wood + flame
SUSAN WASINGER works in a 2000 year-old painting technique called "encaustic". Beeswax is melted and mixed with damar resin a kind of tree sap. Pure dry pigments are then mixed into the medium to create a form of vibrant, waxy paint. Layers of color are laid down upon a wood substrate, and then hit with the flame from a blowtorch to fuse the strata of pigmented wax together into one. The surface is then scraped, etched, carved, buffed to create a painting of unique depth and texture and character.