By Lindsay Peyton

For artists and creative types who want to explore a new medium, Northwest Encaustics provides plenty of room to play with pigmented wax in a safe and inspiring environment.

The studio, located at 7150 44th Ave SW in West Seattle, comes complete with large work surfaces, plenty of ventilation and top notch instructors, as well as all the needed supplies and tools of the trade.

It’s an ideal launch pad for those who have been curious about encaustic painting, or the technique of adding color to hot beeswax and layering the medium to create detailed compositions and intricate collages.

There’s a full calendar of classes and workshops – from Kirsten Wihlelm’s introductory course to weekend workshops on specific techniques, like Larry Calkins’ encaustic collage seminar.

The studio is also available to rent by the day, week or month. The space doubles as a gallery, with rotating work on display by instructors and local artists.

The next exhibit will feature former students and will be on display as part of the West Seattle Art Walk from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14.

The studio’s owner Shaun Doll fell in love with encaustics after taking a course taught by Larry Calkins in 2000.

Before long, Doll, a self-taught painter, printmaking instructor and highly skilled carpenter, was assisting Calkins in the classroom at Pratt Fine Arts Center. Eventually, the two were co-teaching the course.

“We became good friends, and I enjoyed working with him,” Doll said. “I noticed I was doing less and less printmaking and more and more encaustic.”

He saw that his students were equally enthusiastic – and other artists in the city were expressing interest in trying the medium.

Doll wanted to share his passion – and that sparked the idea to create a teaching studio.

“I really did feel like there was a need for this type of thing,” he said. “There weren’t a lot of people teaching this back then, and the interest in encaustic was really growing.”

He found a studio space near his home in West Seattle that fit his specific requirements – enough room to teach, the ability to add electrical power for the process and a place to work outdoors.

Now he has a devoted following of artists who sign up for courses offered by five regular instructors, covering a variety of approaches to encaustic, including incorporating the medium into sculpture and photography.

Doll also teaches “Eight Weeks of Wax,” which meets on Fridays and offers a survey of the basic and experimental techniques in the medium.

Christie Coxley has enrolled in the course a number of times. “It’s a great way to get solid studio time,” she said. “Shaun is such a good teacher. He’s always positive. He’s willing to spend time with you when you need it – and also to leave you alone and let you get to work.”

Coxley added that renting the studio and enrolling in the courses provides easy access to a costly material.

“It’s nice to have access to all the tools and equipment, especially if you are just starting out,” she said. “This type of space is just a boon for people who are trying to find their way as an artist.”

Doll said students like the versatility of encaustic – and the way the finished works look. The dried wax has a translucent character, a luminosity, which gives the paintings an ethereal effect.

Doll has also created his own line of encaustic paints – and is only one in a handful of people in the country to offer pre-mixed medium for sale.

He hopes to expand his commercial line in the future – while also growing his business. He would like to eventually add a printmaking studio to his space.

In the meantime, Doll encourages people to check out the studio – and to take encaustics for a test drive.

“You don’t have to have any art background at all,” he said. “Half of our students have never done any art – and the other half are artists looking for new creative outlets.”