The Book

Painting in Wax is a definitive, thirty-year retrospective of a pioneer in encaustic art of the modern era. Though encaustic is certainly not a new art form (ancient in fact), since 1981 Douglas Mehrens has found new expression in encaustic through experimentation and innovation. He has blended his vision and experience in architectural design, building and artwork with a  profound curiosity into the universe and modern physics.

How to express this through encaustic art is the journey that unfolds on the pages of Painting in Wax. Three decades of pushing the boundaries of encaustic art through tireless experimentation: dripping, pouring, splattering, splashing, casting and throwing beeswax, encaustic paints, synthetic wax, resin and more than 250,000 crayons into and onto canvas, steel, foam core, glass, art board, wood, cork, plastic and even pushing through silkscreen. This is encaustic art as you have never seen before.

The Artist

Douglas Mehrens’s innovative  approach to encaustic art includes sculptural 3D pieces as well as the more traditional 2D work; though even these are done in a way that is his alone. He writes, “Elementary particles and the cosmos itself exist on scales that exclude us entirely. We are the only ones, as far as we know, who can bear witness – who can observe, study and depict these phenomena. These are the concepts that draw me: the very large, small, far away, complex and mysterious aspects and origins of the universe. They are what for my entire life I have witnessed and for thirty years have worked to represent with my art. I have strived to offer the wonderment of the abstract universe that I see, in all of its color, motion and detail.”

Douglas has his studio in Cerrillos, New Mexico (near Santa Fe), where in addition to his time dedicated to pursuing his art, he has also been generous in sharing his insights, knowledge, techniques and aspirations. Toward this end, Douglas, is the founder of the Encaustic Art Institute housed in a landmark pyramid building that he designed and built. The Encaustic Art Institute (a 501c3 non-profit) is dedicated to helping encaustic artists present their work to a wider audience and providing a gallery space for artists to show their work as well as enhancing their art and sharing information and tips through educational workshops and an extensive lending library.