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Do You Have Examples Of Substrates That Have Failed "The Freezer Test"? What Does It Look Like?
Yes, the image below is a sample of Wallis Museum Grade Pastel Paper. We had heard that a few encaustic artists were working with this material so we decided to test it. At first appearance, it seemed like the perfect encaustic substrate especially when we began to layer paint on it. The gritty surface seemed to offer the perfect mechanical adhesion for the encaustic paint. Unfortunately, the acrylic coating that adheres the aluminum oxide (giving this paper its grit) also prevents the wax from absorbing into the paper so as you can see from this image ,the paint actually chipped completeing off the paper after doing "The Freezer Test". The surface beneath is so white where the paint chipped off it looks like it was never painted on to begin with. Can you imagine shipping your artwork to a NYC gallery in the winter months and having them open the crate to find your paint layer sitting in the bottom of the box? Or,worse, having the gallery ship a sold painting by Fed Ex to a collector and having the customer open the box to discover your painting in this condition? This holds true for any acrylic gesso primed canvas and boards. We must stress that you should always test the suitability of a substrate before you begin painting in order to avoid this situation from happening to your artwork. Please note, we are not picking on Wallis Pastel Paper as it is by far the most popular pastel paper on the planet...however, it is just not suitable for encaustic use. This is a great example of why "The Freezer Test" is so beneficial to do.
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