If you love collage or mixed media art, encaustic can take your work to the next level. The wax acts like a sealant, adhesive, and enhancement all at once—letting you embed, protect, and elevate your materials in beautiful ways.

Artists often layer paper, fabric, thread, photos, or natural items between wax coats. This not only secures the items but also gives them a dreamy, ethereal quality. The wax makes colors pop while softening edges, blending everything into a unified surface.

Want to add a vintage vibe? Use aged book pages or found paper. Want modern contrast? Combine sharp ink lines with soft wax overlays. You can also draw or paint between wax layers, creating a visual depth that’s hard to achieve with flat glue-and-paper collage.

Best part? If you don’t like how something looks, you can reheat the wax and shift it around—or scrape it off entirely. This flexibility makes encaustic perfect for experimental artists who love to tweak and refine their work.

If you’re looking to blend mediums and create multi-layered masterpieces, encaustic collage is a playground. And for tutorials, tools, and examples of how the pros do it, head over to embracing encaustic.