Encaustic painting is an ancient process developed by the Greeks. The word encaustic is Greek and it means "to burn" or "burn in."

In its simplest form, encaustic involves melting wax with a resin to create encaustic medium. Pigment is then added to create encaustic paint. The paint or medium is brushed on when it's hot and each layer is fused to the surface with a heat gun, torch, or iron.

The wax can be built up, scraped into, and objects can be embedded into the surface.