StretchLearn Course

Paint With Molten Wax, the Way Encaustic Artists Do

From mixing beeswax and damar medium to fusing luminous layers and carving texture, safely and archivally.

Beginner9 hr 45 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This beginner course teaches encaustic painting from the ground up: making and tinting beeswax and damar medium, setting up a heated palette and fusing workflow, and building luminous layered surfaces that you carve, incise, and embed into. You will work through the core hazards of working hot, the chemistry of why wax behaves as it does, and a low-temperature cold wax variation that needs no flame. By the end you can complete a fused, finished encaustic panel and know which approach suits your studio.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Mix beeswax and damar resin into clear encaustic medium and tint it into workable paint at safe temperatures

Set up and run a heated palette, anodized griddle, and fusing tools within the 180 to 220 degree Fahrenheit working window

Fuse each layer correctly so a panel bonds into a single archival film rather than separating

Build luminous depth through transparent layering, embedding, and accretion on a rigid, absorbent ground

Create texture by carving, incising, scraping, and image transfer into and onto the wax surface

Apply cold wax medium with oil paint as a no-flame alternative and judge when to choose it over hot wax

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Wax, Resin, and a Safe Studio

Understand what encaustic is, mix your own medium and paint, and set up a heated studio that protects your lungs and skin before you ever pick up a brush.

3 lessons

What Encaustic Is and Why It Behaves as It DoesContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Setting Up a Safe Encaustic StudioContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Mixing Encaustic Medium and PaintContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: The Heated Palette and Fusing

Run your heated workspace, lay down a sound first layer on the right support, and master fusing, the heat-bonding step that defines encaustic and prevents delamination.

3 lessons

Supports, Grounds, and the First LayerContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Fusing: The Step That Makes It EncausticContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Building Luminous LayersContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Texture, Marks, and Image Transfer

Move beyond flat colour: carve and incise the cooled surface, scrape and build relief, and transfer printed and drawn imagery into the wax.

3 lessons

Carving, Incising, and ScrapingContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Image and Photo TransferContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Surface Effects and FinishingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Cold Wax and Choosing Your Path

Learn cold wax medium with oil paint as a no-flame alternative, compare it honestly with hot encaustic, and plan your own first finished pieces and ongoing practice.

3 lessons

Cold Wax Medium with Oil PaintContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Hot Versus Cold: Choosing the Right ApproachContent · 40 min

LMS Access

Your First Finished Pieces and Ongoing PracticeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

encaustic paintingbeeswaxdamar resincold wax mediumfusingimage transfermixed mediawax art