Although its history goes as far back as the 5th Century BC, encaustic is so versatile that over the last 50 years it has achieved popularity, to date mainly in the US, as an unusual alternative to oil and acrylic paints.

Encaustic is composed of beeswax and resin. It is applied molten to a surface and fused to create a lustrous enamel effect. Its exquisite visual properties make it perhaps the most beautiful paint ever known. It is also the most durable of all artists' paints, since wax is impervious to moisture and over time will retain all the freshness of a newly finished work.

What has particularly attracted modern painters whether they are working in contemporary or traditional styles is the spontaneity and variety with which encaustic can be used.

• Encaustic paint cools in minutes, which means additional layers can be added almost immediately. Once the surface has cooled, the paint has reached a permanent finish. But the painting can be revised and reworked at any time - whether seconds or years later
  
• It can be laid on in delicately thin glazes or super thick encrusted impastos
  
• It can be carved, shaped and moulded - built to high or low relief
  
• Its adhesiveness makes it an excellent collage medium that can be impregnated with foils, paper, fabrics, string, found objects etc.
  
• The surface quality of encaustic paint can be left rough and matte or worked to semi-gloss or lustrous high-gloss enamel like finish
  
• Encaustic painting does not require solvents of any kind. As a result, a number of health hazards are reduced or eliminated