tribe of Samar island around 1600 to 1800. Artists in the Mexican muralism movement, such as Diego Rivera, Fernando Leal (artist) and Jean Charlot sometimes used encaustic painting. The Belgian artist James Ensor also experimented with encaustic. In the 20th century, painter Fritz Faiss (1905–1981), a student of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky at the Bauhaus, together with Dr. Hans Schmid, rediscovered the so-called Punic wax technique of encaustic painting. Faiss held two German patents related to the preparation of waxes for encaustic painting. One covered a method for treating beeswax so that its melting point was raised from . This occurred after boiling the wax in a solution of sea water and soda three successive times. The resulting harder wax is the same as the Punic wax referred to in ancient Greek writings on encaustic painting. Other 20th-century North American artists, including Jasper Johns, Tony Scherman, Mark Perlman, John Shaw and Fernando Leal Audirac, have used encaustic techniques. Encaustic art has seen a resurgence in popularity since the 1990s, with artists using electric irons, hotplates and heated styli on different surfaces, including card, paper, and even pottery. The iron makes producing a variety of artistic patterns easier. The medium is not limited to just simple designs; it can also be used to create complex paintings, just as in other media such as oil and acrylic. Although technically difficult to master, attractions of this medium for contemporary artists are its dimensional quality and luminous color. Encaustic painters Artists specializing in encaustic painting include the following: Benjamin Calau Betsy Eby Bridgette Meinhold Christel Dillbohner Esther Geller Fernando Leal Audirac Fritz Faiss Heraclides Janise Yntema Jasper Johns Jenny Sages John K. Lawson Karl Zerbe Michael David Michele Ridolfi Pausias Pedro Cuni-Bravo Rodney Carswell Thomas Dodd Tony Scherman See also Encaustic tile Notes References Young, Hilary (ed.), The Genius of Wedgwood (exhibition catalogue), 1995, Victoria and Albert Museum, Further reading Déneux, Gabriel. La Peinture à l'Encaustique, Paris: Imprimerie de La société de typographie, 1890. Gottsegen, Mark David (2006). Painter's Handbook: Revised and Expanded (Revised, Expanded ed.). New York: Watson-Guptill. p. 60. . Hildebrandt, Hans. "Fritz Faiss" Kunst der Nation, 1933 Reams, Maxine. "Unique Wax Paintings by Immigrant Artist should Endure 10,000 Years." Los Angeles Times, Oct. 19, 1952 External links All Things Encaustic Early Icons from St. Catherine's, The Sinai Encaustic Art Today Painting techniques Painting materials Visual arts media