encaustic: from the Greek enkaustikos which means "to heat" or "to burn". Encaustic is the name for both, a medium of pigmented wax, and the process involving heat, by which the medium is applied and secured.

Catherine works in the Encaustic medium with “R + F Handmaid Paints, a New York based company dedicated to the development and production of high quality, stable encaustic materials.

Encaustic Painting is a lost art from ancient times currently being revived, revitalized and adapted to contemporary art expression by a growing number of internationally recognized artists. Beautiful in it's luminous nature, the medium is based on beeswax mixed with Demar crystals. The lush coloured cakes are simply the encaustic medium with pure pigments finely ground in. As demonstrated by the richness and vibrancy of the paintings, encaustic was used for actual portraits for mummy cases discovered from the Ptolemy regime in Egypt, and is incredibly time resilient and permanent.

Lost for centuries, it is now becoming more and more popular with contemporary artists who are exploring its almost endless versatility and friendliness to mixed media.

The question that concerns most people about the durability and stability of encaustic paintings is, Will this melt if I hang the work in my sun room?

No work of art should be in extreme environments – whether very hot or very cold, so the same care given to any work applies to encaustic. Encaustic paintings kept in the same environment as you would use for any other work of art, will retain the luminous beauty and clarity of hues even better than other mediums. The beeswax base especially ensures that the work will not fade or darken as it ages unlike works using varnishes or synthetic wax bases (Susan Fisher-Thomas).”

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