Accretion - Creating Texture With Encaustic Medium

21. August 2016

In this blog post I will discuss several different accretion techniques that I use in my work. First, let's start by reviewing the definition of the word accretion.

ac·cre·tion

əˈkrēSH(ə)n/

noun

the process of growth or increase, typically by the gradual accumulation of additional layers or matter.

A perfect word for describing the process of adding layers of wax using encaustic medium to create a textured surface.

When working with encaustic medium, you can use texture as an element of your painting in many different ways. We will discuss only a few that I typically use. This is certainly not intended to say that are not many, many more...just think of it as a small slice of combining accretion techniques with encaustic medium.

I typically use a combination of accretion and pigment sticks (R&F is my favorite brand) within my paintings. I find that I can create depth, interesting forms and shapes by doing this.

I start by prepping my panel (most typically a plain birch panel, no gesso - or I use an Ampersand Encausticbord) by adding three layers of clear medium. I brush on the medium to create even layers of wax that completely cover the panel. In the YouTube video below I demonstrate how to do this.

I suggest using a 2 or 3 inch hake brush to apply the medium on your panel. Once you have your panel ready, then you can start to work on adding the initial layers of texture. I start by building the first layer of texture using clear medium with the

2 inch hake brush. I dip the brush into the hot clear medium, cool the brush a bit and then apply the first layer of medium to create some initial texture. I will also add drips of medium, with purposeful movements to ensure my painting achieves fluid motion. In the video below I demonstrate the basic process that I use to create the initial layers of texture.

The following video is a quick demo of the process I described above.

Managing your heat (the surface temp and the temp of applied wax) is key and takes time to figure out. Working too hot is the most common issue I see with new learners.

So experiment and practice.

The following are some of the tools I used in this video (each is linked to the item in my store):