HISTORY OF THE ENCAUSTIC MONOTYPE

In the 1970s, a relatively dormant art form of creating one-of-a-kind prints gained new popularity

 with the exhibition “The Painterly Print” presented jointly by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New

York, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I was doing monotypes in the traditional method of

transferring oil-based inks on paper with the use of an etching press. I was also experimenting

with encaustic painting. I wanted to combine the directness and immediacy of the monotype with

the richness and luminosity of encaustic painting. The result was a process that eliminated all the

slow and cumbersome steps of encaustic painting and the toxicity of inks and solvents of printing

on a press in the more traditional way. I called it the “Encaustic Monotype.” My first wax monotype

was juried into a show  by Lucy Lippard in 1980. Encaustic monotypes were included in my

graduate thesis show in 1981 and I have continued to show the wax prints and my monotypes

done on a press.
 

In 1991, Daniel Smith awarded me a grant to publish my process in the Inksmith, a printmaking

newsletter. I have used excerpts from that article here and have added alterations and additional

information.

 THE PROCESS

The process is simple: a wax crayon drawing made on a heated metal plate is transferred to a

sheet of paper using hand pressure; no printing press is needed. The plate is cleaned with paper

 towels or rags; no toxic solvents are involved. This basic procedure provides the artist with a new
 
realm of printmaking using basic, inexpensive studio equipment.

MATERIALS

The Hotplate.
Several professional models are sold by printmaking suppliers. A substitute hotplate frame can

be made of wood or metal with basic tools found in a woodshop or welding shop and insulated

and wired with ceramic receptacles that use 100-watt incandescent lightbulbs. It can be built to

any desired size, preferably a size that fits standard art papers. The plate should be a metal gauge

of sufficient suspension strength to span the frame and to conduct heat evenly. Multiples of 16” X

18” will create an even heat to melt the crayons. My 19” X 32” double frame of 8 lightbulbs evenly

heats a plate 22” X 34” and accommodates 22” X 30” paper. For safety, any frame must be lined

with insulation on the sides and bottom. It should be raised above the surface of the worktable

with legs or it should be used on a metal or other heatproof surface.
 

The Crayons
When I began experimenting with this monotype process, I bought beeswax cakes fabricated by

theTorch company. When Richard Frumess began his business (R & F Handmade Paints) I was

disappointed that I still could not buy a pigmented beeswax crayon, so I made my own. The

crayons are fabricated in a simple two-part mold constructed from two identical ¾” maple boards

cut to any desired  length. Clamp the boards in a vise or between C-clamps and drill to a

predetermined depth into the joined edges at regular intervals. Apply several coats of wood sealer

to the inside of the mold to reduce wax adhesion. Mix dry pigment with equal parts of beeswax in a

small can and pour into the mold openings. Allow 20 minutes or more to harden. Release the

clamp and the crayons will come free from the mold. There are many variations of this

fundamental procedure. Damar resin is used to harden encaustic painting pigments to be used

on a rigid substrate. Since the paper is flexible, I prefer a more flexible pigment. This reduces the

chances of pigment cracking during handling. I also like the ease of mark-making with the more

flexible pigment. There are paint modifiers to add to the mixture if more or less opacity is desired.

Some modifiers also aid in the suspension of the pigment in the wax.
 

Paper
The paper chosen can determine the outcome of the print. A very absorbent paper such as

mulberry fiber paper makes a softer image; the wax becomes a part of the paper. A smoother,

less absorbent paper results in sharper edges with greater contrast; the color sits on top.
 

THE IMAGE
All prints are made by drawing into a light field (the additive process) or removing areas of a dark

field (the negative process) or by a combination of the two. It delights and amazes me to see the

many fresh and diverse ideas that each individual artist brings to the process.
 
CONCLUSION
With the range of materials and techniques available for encaustic monotype, there are endless

possibilities for the experimental artist. It is my hope that each artist who tries this process will

translate the expertise they bring from other media to add to and improve what I have begun.

If you have questions about encaustic monotype procedures or want
to report your experiences with the process, contact me at:
d.furlong.gardner@gmail.com