First Encaustic

Well this was what I was so immersed in the past few days.
30x30cms on a wooden panel. Layers and layers of wax (encaustic medium - 7 parts beeswax to 1 part damar resin) painted on molten then fused with heat into the layer below. It will last thousands of years am told.
I signed up for an online course by Nancy Crawford - Canadian expert in all things encaustic. I trawled You Tube for months picking up tips and hints from folk but she is by far the most talented and professional practioner around - if you fancy having a go.
The course covers all the setting up stuff, basics of encaustic and a few different techniques encapsulated in this Golden Rectangle task. Since I had only bought/made square boards I had to figure out a way to use that 'exra slice' hence my fossil photos and the strip of just visible Fibonacci numbers along the bottom edge.
This first go was a lot of fun once I stopped worrying that I would burn the house down or die from toxic fumes.
All unfounded fears if you work safely and follow sensible safety advice.
Each section of the work is treated slightly differently.
Two layers of wax go down first - the aim is to get them smooth - I failed but carrried on...
Techniques ranged from trapping photos among the wax (bottom row), accretion - deliberately using the side of the brush to accumulate little heaps of wax, oil-rubs - not as sexy as it sounds - just rubbing oil paint or encaustic pigment sticks into the wax then fusing in with the heat gun or wiping partly off with coconut oil(it's my new best friend), a pastel rub - same tecnique as oil paint, fusing on metal leaf, using masking tape (painter's tape) to create straight edges, inscribing lines and enhancing them with pigment, cutting/using stencils... possibilities are great - busting with ideas here now... got all the gear just need to play...
What's it got that paint/pastel/ doesn't? For me - it's the surface... the feeling that what you make is already old somehow? The idea of trapping some of my beach finds is really appealing... and maybe, just maybe it will move my work on from realistic photographic stuff?
I left the image quite large so you could get up close and see all my mistakes.