Encuastic Painting

Artist

Lucy Nicholls

2025

Encaustic paint makes use of heated beeswax and damar resin combined with color pigment. This painting technique and medium was derived by Ancient Greeks. My first interactions with encaustic were at the Woodstock School of Art under the guidance of artist Leslie Giuliani and Richard Frumess, artist and paint-maker, and founder of R&F paints. I have a love of this medium as it allows one to experiment with layering and material chemistry in a way that goes beyond painting mediums that are more two-dimensional in nature.

The element of heat adds a level of excitement and commands a technical skill that goes beyond other paint forms. Furthermore, encaustic can be integrated into three dimensional art forms such as sculpture which allows one to play with time, light, shadow and space in complex and interesting visual expressions.

DRIFTING

This is a mother-daughter series. My daughter used pastels to color pieces of wood and stones that she found in her nursery school playground. Inspired by her freestyle handicraft, and aspiring to preserve it, I used encaustic painting as a medium to do so. I completed these three pieces during May of 2025 at the Woodstock School of Art in a workshop entitled: Encaustic Unleashed, Sculpture and Assemblage led by artist Joan Ffolliott. The pieces are intended to evoke a sense of resilience, timelessness, weathering, and unconditional love of mother nature.

Mediums: Mediums: Encaustic, discarded wood, encaustic boards, pastel, playground rocks, wood and pine cone, pom poms, and glue. Wood and stones painted by Verena. Composition and background by Lucy. Pine cone by both. .

2025

Two painted rocks with colorful designs, placed on a textured white surface, outdoors with rocks and moss in the background.
Colorful abstract painting on a white textured canvas with five vertical, textured brushstrokes above four circular shapes, outdoors on a rocky surface surrounded by small green plants.
Painted rocks and pebbles on a white textured surface, with some moss around the edges.
Colorful abstract textured artwork on a rectangular canvas, featuring a central cone shape with multi-colored, layered scales, surrounded by a vivid blue and black patterned background, placed on a stone surface with some greenery nearby.
Three colorful watercolor paintings placed on a large mossy rock outdoors, with a pair of pink Crocs at the bottom and green grass around.
Colorful textured artwork of a pine cone on a blue background, mounted on a wall with engraved text.
Close-up of a pine cone with red, pink, green, and brown colors, set against a textured blue and black background.
Close-up of a textured painting with black, blue, and beige colors forming an abstract pattern with layered, 3D-like effects.
A wooden plaque with a handwritten note in blue and red ink. The note contains a message to Vera and Lucy from Mama, expressing love, hope for strength and grace, and includes an address in New York, 2025.
Art supplies on newspaper-covered surface including hot glue gun, mini glue sticks, paint brushes, bottles of paint in pastel colors, a cup of coffee, and a colorful butterfly decoration. A small textured canvas with abstract painting is also present
Colorful painted rocks arranged on white boards, with art supplies, such as paintbrushes, markers, and decorative items, on a table.
An art studio workspace with painted rocks and wood pieces on two boards covered in bright blue and cream paint. Art supplies and newspapers are scattered around.
Painting project with colorful, painted pieces of wood on blue and orange textured backgrounds, surrounded by paint supplies, brushes, and newspaper covering the work surface.
Close-up of textured, colorful abstract artwork with thick paint strokes in purple, pink, blue, green, and gold, labeled with a sticky note that says 'LUCY' and a heart symbol.
Person using a heat gun to craft or paint on a textured artwork involving stones on a table covered with newspaper, with art supplies and tools visible in the background.
A mixed media art piece featuring colorful, textured stones on a canvas covered with yellow and blue paint. Art supplies like paintbrushes, sponges, and pastel sticks are scattered around. The workspace is covered with newspaper.
Two textured art panels with painted rocks and wooden pieces on a table covered with newspapers and art supplies.
Close-up of painted wooden pieces with colorful abstract patterns, including blue, gold, white, and multicolored textures.
A paint palette with multiple layers of dried paint, colorful smears, and textured patterns, resting on a newspaper-covered surface.
Close-up of a painted wooden object with colorful streaks of blue, teal, purple, white, gold, and brown, resting on a decorative surface with gold, white, blue, and pink accents.
Abstract artwork with vibrant swirling patterns of orange, blue, pink, and gold colors.
Colorful textured art piece with various painted rocks and wooden pieces arranged on a canvas, with a handwritten note saying 'LUCY' with a heart symbol.
Close-up of an abstract textured artwork with painted rocks and pieces of wood on a vibrant orange and blue background.
A workspace with painted wooden pieces on a blue painted surface, with various painting tools and art supplies around, including brushes, paint, and sponges.
Colorful painted rocks arranged on a blue textured surface, with paint supplies and newspaper in the background.
Colorful painted rocks and stones on blue textured foam boards, surrounded by art supplies like paint, brushes, and sponges, on a work table covered with newspapers.
A workspace with art supplies, a hot glue gun, glue sticks, paint brushes, a set of colored markers, and painted rocks arranged on two white boards. There is a paper cup with a lid, a basket of small colorful pom-poms, and a piece of pink shredded pa
Studio workspace with painted rocks, art supplies, and tools on a table.
Painted and colorful broken pieces of wood or bark arranged on a textured surface, with various colors and brushstrokes.
Colorful painted rocks placed on a light fabric surface with scattered paint and small stones nearby.

IN FLUX

This was my first ever encaustic creation completed at the Woodstock School of Art in March of 2025 under a workshop entitled Encaustic and Collage led by artist Leslie Giuliani. I bonded layers of R&F encaustic paint starting with vibrant blue and yellow. I engrained textures using broken paint brush heads and pieces of metal. I continued to layer colors adding ancient gold and to balance the piece I selected a neutral as the final layer. I scraped off the neutral layer to reveal areas of the material that had formed interesting and vibrant patterns because of my earlier interactions with the tools applied. The creation of this piece was navigated through intuition and intends to evoke a sense of experimentation, seeing, unfolding of time, discovery, chaos and balance all at once.

2025

Abstract painting with swirl patterns and textured background in cream, blue, and gold colors.
Abstract mixed media artwork with textured layers of cream, blue, red, and gold colors, featuring circular patterns and drips, on a white background surrounded by paint splatters and tools.
Abstract painting featuring black circles, orange, white, blue, and green colors with textured brushstrokes.
A cluttered artist's workspace with tools, paints, and a textured canvas or paper at the center, spread out on a white table with paint splatters and spots.
Art workspace with paintbrushes, paint, palette knife, and a cup, surrounded by paint swatches, a textured canvas, and various art supplies.
Abstract textured artwork with circular patterns on a canvas, surrounded by art supplies like paintbrushes, razors, spray paint cans, a box cutter, and colorful paints on a white table.
Abstract acrylic painting featuring horizontal yellow and gold textured layers over sections of mixed blue, pink, and white colors.
Abstract artwork with three horizontal sections: the top section is red with blue streaks, the middle section is black with numerous blue rings and bubbles, and the bottom section is yellow with green and blue streaks.
Close-up of a hand spray painting a piece of textured artwork with black, yellow, and blue colors. The artwork features a section with small circular patterns and abstract textures.
A person is painting a wooden board with yellow and blue paints, using a paintbrush. The table has paint supplies, including small paint containers, scattered around.

EXPERIMENTAL

Completed in the same workshop at the Woodstock School of Art as “In Flux” above, this piece applied R&F encaustic paints and was navigated through experimentation and intuition. I applied various tools to layers of vibrant encaustic paint balanced back by neutral and a royal blue. In my view, the piece did not result in as balanced of a composition as the former one and lacks a focal point. It reflects a landscape. I discovered the finesse of scraping back encaustic paint—where too much pressure is applied the amount of material removed can create a tension in the piece. That said, this work produced some beautiful chemical reactions and effects. It was a pleasure to create.  

2025

Abstract mixed media artwork on a canvas with bright yellow, green, black, and blue colors, surrounded by art supplies including erasers, paintbrushes, and pastel blocks.
Close-up of a person using a spray gun to create abstract spray paint art on a black canvas, with prominent blue, yellow, pink, and purple colors.
Abstract painting with black background, green and yellow accents at the bottom, textured surface showing brush strokes and paint details.
Abstract acrylic pour painting on a canvas with blue painter's tape, with colorful swirling patterns of yellow, black, green, and pink, on a splattered table.
A small canvas with a landscape painting in progress, featuring a pink sky, dark mountain, green hills, and yellow foreground, on a cluttered white workspace with paint supplies and tools around.
Abstract aerial view of a landscape with bright yellow, green, black, and blue colors blending together.
An abstract acrylic painting on canvas featuring yellow, black, blue, and pink colors. The painting seems to depict a landscape or horizon scene, with vibrant colors blending together.
A mixed media art piece on a canvas, partially painted with abstract colorful textures, on a cluttered work table with paintbrushes, sponges, and paint containers.
Abstract painting with swirling green, yellow, blue, and black colors on textured paper surface.
A colorful landscape painting of a sunset or sunrise on a small canvas, surrounded by art supplies including tape, crumpled tissue, a paint spatula, and paint bottles on a messy white worktable.
Display of R&F encaustic paint, pigment sticks, and related painting supplies organized on a wooden shelf with multiple color options.
Abstract acrylic painting on a canvas with black, blue, yellow, pink, and green colors, taped with blue painter's tape.
A close-up view of a glass painting with acrylic paints in pink, blue, yellow, and black. A hand is using a metal painting tool to spread or scrape paint on the glass surface.
An art workspace with a canvas featuring a colorful abstract landscape painting with yellow, black, blue, and pink hues. Various paint bottles, brushes, and tools are scattered around, with some paint splatters and drips on the table.