Dale O. Roberts Biography

True classic encaustic, the procedure dating from Roman times, is the medium I currently use to carry out my investigations in paint. The work is done on a glue prepared gesso panel, using paints consisting of beeswax, dammar crystals, and dry pigments. Paint is applied hot, and manipulated in any variety of methods. The final image is subjected to a heat treatment heat treatment of the entire surface, known as “burning-in.” This final process, essential to the true ancient method, causes the layers to fuse into a stable, inert paint film.

During the past twenty plus years, I have experimented with various paint formulations and methods of application. The thermoplastic nature of the paint and translucence of the medium are two of the rare, intrinsic qualities which I find fascinating. Given the variables of pigment composition, they will often exhibit spontaneous effects, unattainable with any other medium. The paint has a very physical quality, capable of an exciting range of applications. The practice of encaustic has become an extension of my own vision, to the point where technique and aesthetic have fused like the paintings themselves.

The materials and method of true encaustic require studio preparation, making studies, notes and drawing a necessity. The remote nature of the process, subject to its own challenges, allows for internal changes and reactions to the observable world. Finished artwork needs no special care, but can be polished periodically to remove dust and bring up a luster.