This question often comes up at workshops, and the short answer is “it depends on the painting!” An encaustic piece can have as little as one layer, or as many as 50+ layers of medium. It varies greatly with the maker of the piece, and I can only speak for myself. I’d say that the most common number of layers in one of my paintings would be between 8-10. In some cases, though, I’ve done pieces with 108 layers and the effect is beautiful!
