Mars Orange

Mars Orange is a blend of red iron oxide and yellow iron oxide hydroxide pigments that make a fairly bright, earthy orange. Surrounded by low chroma colors, it appears highly saturated but never garish.

Composition and Permanence

For a detailed explanation of the terms in the table above, please visit Composition and Permanence.

Ceracolors is water-soluble wax paint that can be used for encaustic and wax painting techniques. Ceracolors makes encaustic painting versatile because heat, electricity and special tools are not required.

Ceracolors is a wax paint for professional artists made from pharmaceutical-grade beeswax blended with other waxes derived from natural sources to provide higher melting temperatures. Ceracolors provide a wide range of painting techniques from thick impastos that can be sculpted to thin watercolor-like washes. They are fast-drying colors suitable for all supports used for encaustic painting, yet they do not require any special tools and heated instruments. Use any brush suitable for water-based paint. Once dry Ceracolors can be used in encaustic technique, allowing further sculpting and manipulation of the paint. The ingredients in Ceracolors are found in food and cosmetics so they are not considered to be toxic.

The current range of Ceracolors are available in 50ml aluminum collapsible tubes and mediums are available in 4 and 8 fluid ounce jars.

Properties

Drying

Ceracolors dry in two stages. First, the paint dries rapidly due to the evaporation of water, so it is touch dry within a short time. After this initial period, the paint can be reopened with a wet brush. During the second stage, wax crystals coalesce as the paint cures. This can take several days or several weeks for thicker applications of paint.

Water Solubility

Ceracolors are thinned with water. The paint comes out of the tube as a paste and can be diluted to the consistency of watercolors. The water solubility of Ceracolors allows easy handling and cleaning.

Color and Optical Quality

Ceracolors are available in a wide range of colors that are used by artists in other professional-quality mediums. Ceracolors are formulated for high tinting strength and the optical qualities of wax provide outstanding chroma.

Hardness

Ceracolors are made with a blend of waxes microemulsified in water. Wax is soft with low scratch resistance so works require care when handling and storing.

Durability

Water-soluble wax paint is durable, as attested by the present state of preservation of Roman and Roman-Egyptian paintings of the first century in many museums throughout the world.

Toxicity

Ceracolors are composed of ingredients that are not considered toxic—ingredients that are often found in food and cosmetics. There are no hazardous solvents or additives.

Supports

Rigid supports, such as wood, are best for wax painting technique, but canvas and paper can also be used. Ceracolors can be applied onto other materials, such as ceramics, glass, metal or plastic.

Use Directions

Heat Setting

Uncured paint has limited wet scrub resistance, especially in thick layers. This resistance increases when the paint is fused by heat. Heat can be applied by a heat gun, hair dryer or pastry torch.

Impasto

With Ceracolors you can apply thick passages of paint. However, like all paints that use water as a vehicle, you will experience some shrinkage during drying due to the evaporation of water. We recommend that thick impastos be built up by layering thinner applications of paint and then fusing each layers with heat. The addition of Ceracolors Impasto Medium helps to avoid excessive volume loss upon drying.

Clean Up

Cleaning brushes and equipment is easy with soap and water. Dried Ceracolors water-soluble wax paint can be cleaned with household ammonia.