Encaustic derives from the Greek  word "enkaustikos", meaning "to burn in".   It becomes technically encaustic when a heat source is used to fuse the wax to the underlying layers, binding each layer to the one beneath.

 

Encaustic painting involves painting with heated encaustic medium to which colored pigments can be added. Encaustic medium consists of beeswax and damar resin.  The medium is then applied to a ground and fused with a heating device. 

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Contemporary encaustic has emerged as a melting pot of collaborative techniques, as artists combine painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, collage/assemblage, installation work and sculpture with wax. 

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More than just a medium or a technique, encaustic has become an art medium unifier.