Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch Encaustic Transfer & Shellac Demo at the Seattle DANIEL SMITH Store

Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch Encaustic Transfer & Shellac Demo at the Seattle DANIEL SMITH Store

The “Creative Flame” was burning bright at Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch’s demo last Sunday when she lighted a match and touched the Encaustic Painting she had just daubed with Shellac causing a bright flame to burn some interesting effects into the painting!

 
At the Seattle DANIEL SMITH Store for one of the many FREE “How To” Art demos we had over the weekend,
Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch returned for another Encaustic demo.  Patricia, author of the book, “Encaustic Workshop” was recently at the Store for an Art demo: ENCAUSTIC: Techniques for Working with Wax, following that link will take you to the tips and info Patricia shared at that demo.  Patricia’s book, “Encaustic Workshop”  goes into much more detail with her encaustic techniques like the Transfer and Shellac processes with many photos on the results – great resource for working in Encaustics!
 
This demo: Encaustic Transfer and Shellac was a general overview of Painting with Encaustics plus more on the transfer process in encaustic, AND a special technique that Patricia has developed with Shellac….and burning it!
 
Bulls Eye Shellac

Bulls Eye Shellac

Patricia discovered Bullseye Shellac during a stint working at a hardware store, just the place for an experimentally inclined encaustic Artist!  While experimenting, she realized that she could get some really cool effects with the way the burning shellac interacted with the wax.  The Shellac comes in Amber and Clear, and Patricia prefers working with the Amber since it leaves the warm amber color on the painting.

 
Keeping her studio as toxin free as possible, Patricia only works with beeswax (no paraffin which is petroleum based) and working with Shellac is in keeping with that spirit since Bullseye Shellac is “an alcohol-based solution of pure lac, a natural resin secreted by tiny insects”.  It is the alcohol in it that burns off in the process, leaving the Shellac residue.
 
There are two ways of creating that Patricia has developed with the Shellac, wet and dry.
 
Encaustic Shellac Flambe! Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch lighitng shellac on fire for interesting effects

Encaustic Shellac Flambe! Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch lighitng shellac on fire for interesting effects

For the wet process, Patricia applies the Shellac to her encaustic painting (ie already waxed surface) by daubing it onto the wax surface with a paper towel while the painting lies flat.  Then…..drum roll please…..strikes a match, touches it to the Shellac, and Flambe!  The alcohol burns off and leaves just the Shellac in interesting patterns since the flame has melted some of the encaustic wax.  As always with encaustic painting, keep a fire extinguisher handy…just in case!

 
For the dry process, Patricia applies the Shellac the same way, then has the Shellac dry for at least 1/2 an hour.  Then she “burns off” any remaining alcohol with a small propane torch (the small ones used for creme brulee are easy to use) or as Patricia showed us in the demo, with the heat gun.  She places her heat gun very close to the surface to “burn off” remaining alcohol, and to melt the wax, moving the heat gun also manipulates the process. 
Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch - Burned Shellac with Encaustic Painting

Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch - Burned Shellac with Encaustic Painting

The photo shows what the results were from the demo.  The one on the left is the wet method, the one on the right is the dry method.  Patricia said that you can apply more encaustic wax once the Shellac has dried, no longer sticky.

 
Definitely an illuminating demo….Thank you Patricia!
 
Every Day,  Express Yourself  with  ART….
 
~Deborah Burns
 
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