Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Libby Lynn moved to Alabama in 1992, and eventually settled down in North Carolina in 2000. After an unusual 15-year career that included media management for the largest Adult company in the world, she discovered the ancient technique of Encaustic painting. She also discovered that most people have no idea what the word Encaustic means.
Encaustic paint is a combination of beeswax, tree sap and pigment. The wax paint is melted and quickly transferred to a hard surface. In order to become chemically stable, each layer of wax must be fused with a heating device. Hair dryers, hot guns and propane torches are the most common fusing tools.
Originally developed by Egyptian craftspeople around 100 BCE for funerary masks, the Greeks perfected Encaustic painting in order to bring life to their outdoor marble statues. It took a long time, a lot of bad weather and many fiery wars for that wax to melt away.
Libby’s main goal is to make affordable art that is ready to hang on anyone’s wall. Store-bought Encaustic supplies are expensive, so Libby learned how to make her own paints and frames. She buys local beeswax from the Durham Farmer’s market, and uses both traditional and experimental dry pigments.
