R&F Handmade Paints was established in 1988. What began as a painter’s solo endeavor has evolved into a multi-faceted paint company that is material-focused and artist-driven. Our history or story is one that finds a singular material at the nucleus, but our commitment to you, the artist, is where we find our direction. R&F’s Founder Richard Frumess began making encaustic paint as a painter simply to support his own artistic practice and to ensure that ready-made encaustic was kept in production at a time when there were no commercial manufacturers. During the first year Richard produced encaustic paint as R&F Encaustics. While he struggled to start-up the business, asking pigment suppliers for double samples and also working a second job, the seed was firmly planted. This first year in business Richard sold a line of 39 colors including five “pearlescents” to art retailers in New York City as well as Denver, CO and internationally in Paris.