I have been reading Color, a Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finley. It is interesting to be reminded of where our colors come from and how they were made historically. The book is light in tone which unfortunately adds to the sensation that it is lighter in content than I want it to be, or than it perhaps really is.

I think that the making of your own paint is one of the things I like about encaustics, the sense of freedom and experimentation as you start. I also like to think about the technical prowess an artist had to have to use encaustic before we had electricity. It is no wonder that the use of wax as a binder fell out of favor quickly when compared to oil or eggwhite. Imagine trying to fuse the paint to the surface of a large mural using candles and torches? Or keeping the heat even under the pots of paint so they are neither too hot nor cold. We take electricity so much for granted it is hard to imagine life without it, and when was the last time you thought about the ways electricity allowed you to be more creative?