By Mary Beth Shaw
In the September/October issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, Mary Beth Shaw shares her technique for using stencils with encaustic. Stencils are not as fragile as you thought. Use Mary Beth’s techniques to add interesting detail and texture to your encaustic paintings.
Want to take your encaustic paintings even further? Consider the techniques below, and add fascinating underlayers to your encaustic paintings, or interesting details on the top layer. In fact, some of the materials you add to the substrate first are so cool; you may want to just add encaustic medium over them, and call it done.
Before you apply encaustic medium on your substrate, it is lovely to . . .
1. Create a stencil pattern with tar. I learned this technique from Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch and instantly fell in love with the deep brown grittiness of asphalt patching compound. No prep is needed on the substrate. Just place the stencil on the board, and spread the tar over it with a palette knife. Be sure and clean your tools and stencil right away, so the tar doesn’t damage them. Allow the tar to dry before proceeding with the encaustic layers.
2. Trace a design onto the substrate, using a stencil as your guide. Using a wood-burning tool, follow the drawn lines. The result will be a deep brown linear effect that is just gorgeous under encaustic medium and paint.
3. Lay a stencil onto the substrate, and apply plaster over the stencilwith a palette knife. Since encaustic paint requires a porous substrate, plaster is simply perfect. You can use the natural plaster as is, or tint the plaster with a small amount of powdered pigment. The result is a nice texture that will work quite well for any type of encaustic layering you pursue in your painting.
4. If you are using an Ampersand™ Encausticbord™, which is white, use a sponge to dab alcohol ink through a stencil onto the white surface. The white surface allows the alcohol ink to pop, and creates a layer that will appear to be almost floating once you layer encaustic paint and medium.
5. Trace a stencil pattern with a permanent pen or marker, adding color as desired. If you use a darker pen, the effect will have more punch, but sometimes a lighter color is even more interesting as it peeks through the wax.
More ways to use stencils with encaustic:
1. Place a stencil on top of an encaustic piece and sprinkle powdered pigment or graphite over the stencil. Fuse gently while you are removing the stencil in order to hold the stencil shape.
2. Dab PanPastel® or alcohol ink over a stencil design. Fuse gently to make the design permanent.
3. Use a stencil as a guide for tracing. Use PITT artist pens, India ink, or a china marker for permanent results. Always fuse afterward.
4. Gold leaf may also be burnished through a stencil. Using the back of a spoon, gently rub gold leaf onto an encaustic painting, then fuse.