Heat Index is a mixed media encaustic painting built on a grid of oranges, yellows, and reds. Orange is a bold yet mysteriously delicate and unforgiving color, even when mixed with its kindred spirits yellow and red. It muddies in an instant, and holding its purity across the piece took patience and a lot of careful tuning. The layers are worked with heat, then scored and marked so fine lines and flecks of black break across the surface like smoldering coals. Against the cool, white ground, the warm tiles hold their heat, keeping order and intensity in the same frame. Heat Index was a true study in coaxing intensity out of a color that does not give it up easily.