Encaustic Art / Wax Painting Workshops in Jamaica

The Candle Academy, Encaustic Art Workshop in Jamaica:
Situated in the stunningly-beautiful area of Negril in western Jamaica in the Caribbean, The Candle Academy is a leading candle making and encaustic art school for beginners to advanced artists and designers. Our range of year-round residential courses includes a 2-3 day wax painting workshop suitable for all levels, creative artists and alternative travel / holistic holiday enthusiasts. The encaustic art course is taught by Gary Simmons, a UK tutor and one of the world’s leading candle designers and an encaustic wax painting expert who has been actively creating in these unique art forms for over 20 years.

• Encaustic art, also described as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax or some alternative types of waxes blended with colored pigments. 

• Pure, powdered pigments can be used, although some artists use mixtures with oil paints or other forms of pigment. The encaustic paste or liquid is then applied to a surface, usually canvas or prepared wood.

• Special brushes and metal tools are used to shape the paint mixture before it cools, or heated tools can be used to manipulate the wax material once it has cooled onto the surface.

• This allows artists to extend the amount of time they have to work with the material, enabling further discoveries to be uncovered.

• Born in England, Gary Simmons has lived in London, Los Angeles CA, the Caribbean, Thailand and the French Riviera (a region rich in history for renowned artists and pioneers). While living in France, Gary discovered an original technique never before seen in the art world.

• Using heat resistant wax, Gary created a special formula to produce three-dimensional textured paintings unique to this medium. The inspiration came from the sun bleached faded facades of the Mediterranean region that had become weathered, therefore exposing layers of paint, texture, and stories of times past.

• The encaustic work resembles ancient eroded relics of art with textures of the natural elements in wood, aged stone, slate, and oxidized metal. Both the artist and the viewer become absorbed in the discovery of the many textures, colours and forms which evoke a feeling of calmness, presence, balance and well-being. 

• Gary has exhibited in London, Paris, Cannes and Monaco. His work has been commissioned by top interior designers, hotels, private villas and super-yachts on the French Riviera and Jamaica. Gary has sold his work in France, Jamaica, London, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Dubai, Florida and Los Angeles, California. 


Encaustic Art (Wax Painting) Workshop:
• Duration: 2-3 days
• Price: 2,000 USD (1 person) / 3,000 USD (for 2 participants / couple)

- 2 or 3 nights accommodation in the onsite residence in Jamaica
- Pick up and drop off from Sangster International Airport
- All instruction in the medium
- Understanding temperatures
- Working with colour
- Texturizing
- Metal effects
- Wood effects
- Marbelyzing
- Weathering
- Aging

• Study at Gary Simmons' residential school and home in the idyllic town of Negril, Jamaica with one of the world's top candle designers and encaustic artists. Whether you want to expand your painting skills or learn this unique art form as a hobby, Gary will provide an intensive, wax art workshop to suit your needs and style.

• Negril, Jamaica, with its seven miles of white sand beaches, the superb food, spectacular sights and, of course, excellent reggae music all combine to offer a truly inspirational location to learn the creative candle making skills and business.

• Coyaba, the name of Gary's house in Negril, is a completely private hilltop retreat overlooking Orange Bay, a fishing village 15 minutes from Negril's seven mile white sand beach. The house is just a half mile up from the coastline, affording spectacular 180 degree views of the Caribbean ocean.

• This truly is an unforgettable educational vacation, creative holiday retreat and honeymoon destination for travelers, design professionals and artistic couples from around the world.

•  “I searched the planet to find work like this.”
Leah, Canada

•  "I never realized that I would learn so many techniques in such a short time I skyped my children the designs each night and they were amazed at what I could do."
Sakeena, UK

•  "Gary has the creative ability and eye to take an ordinary object and make it extraordinary with commercial appeal. This has made him one of the most sought after candle designers in the business today and probably ranking him as one of the top designers in the world today."
Mike, UK

•  "I spent a very enjoyable week in the South of France, and now I have the confidence to tackle projects that would have seemed impossible previously."
Jeanie, France

•  "The whole experience of staying next to the perfume capital of the world with its incredible history and Learning one on one with one of the worlds leading designers was a rare treat."
Daniella, Geneva

•  "Thank you Gary for your inspiration and hospitality, it is something I will cherish for a long time."
Marayah Shehu, Africa