What I'm working on this month

I would like to share some of my work in progress, something I haven't done in the past but feel it might be a good way for me to document what I've done. I hope it will help me grow and develop and show me when a painting is completed. 

These are acrylics combined with collage, since it's gotten cold here and my wax area is not heated, I'm inside where it is warm. I would love to be able to use some beeswax with these mixed media pieces, but acrylic and wax to not mix and cannot be combined. Oil paint is the only paint that works, but for me it takes too long to dry. I am an impatient and spontaneous artist!

Ink and paint underdrawing

I have covered most of my drawings with paint

These paintings are in process and not really ready to say they are finished.  

National Collage Society 2011 Exhibit

PRESS RELEASE FOR 2011 SIGNATURE MEMBERS

Lynn Bland, Gatlinburg, TN, has been granted Signature Membership in the National Collage Society.  This is the highest distinction awarded to collage artists who have been selected by juries for the Annual Juried Exhibit.

The National Collage Society, Inc. (NCS, Inc) is a non-profit art education foundation with headquarters in Hudson, Ohio.  The purpose of this organization is to educate the public about the only new fine art medium of the 20^th Century, collage.  Collage is defined as a work of art with another layer glued on the surface.  It was found in many craft forms until 1912 when George Braque glued a piece of wallpaper on the surface of one of his paintings and created fine art.  He was sharing a studio with Pablo Picasso in southern France and they both pursued this new medium extensively.  Their collages can now be found in museums around the world.

NCS, Inc was founded by Gretchen Bierbaum in 1982, then incorporated in Ohio and obtained the IRS classification 501 C 3.  Membership has spread around the world with web presence www.nationalcollage.com.

Each year a new three-person jury selects the Annual Exhibit from hundreds of entries.  A museum curator, art history professor and professional collage artist provide a balance of opinions to maintain a high standard of collage and assemblage.

Assemblage is 3-dimensional collage.

Literacy Series: Book I

This assemblage is a combination of collage and pen and ink drawing with encaustic. I have used the beeswax to coat the altered book and the background surface. The twigs and mica are adhered with the wax and found objects such as an old key, a small carved wooden cross, stones and an acorn are added for dimension. Check out this link to view the exhibit:
http://www.nationalcollage.com/2011_exhibit/2011.html

Photograph by Jill Greene

Encaustic Collage

Artist:	Bascha Mon
Title:	ADRIFT
Medium:	ENCAUSTIC AND COLLAGE ON PAPER
Size:	22 x 30 inches

These collages are from the Tsunami Series and are heavily layered and impressive in size. This is an example of an artist expressing her sorrow through her art. Creating something beautiful out of a horrific natural disaster.

Artist:  Bascha Mon Title:  Searching For Paradise (Lost?) Medium:  encaustic & collage on paper Size:  30 x 22 inches

Artist:	Bascha Mon
Title:	Searching For Paradise (Lost?)
Medium:	encaustic & collage on paper
Size:	30 x 22 inches

Artist: 

Bascha Mon

Title: 

Searching For Paradise (Lost?)

Medium: 

encaustic & collage on paper

Size: 

30 x 22 inches

To see more work by this artist, please visit her website with this link:http://www.neoimages.net/artistportfolio.aspx?pid=3339

Encaustic Institute Juried Show

POETIC TEXT

Photograph by Jill Greene

One of my recent encaustic paintings, " Poetic Text"  has been selected for the upcoming national show in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is an encaustic collage with my personal journal pages fused to the surface of the painting. I have used a sgrafitto technique with oil paint sticks to create the line work. The work measures 9.5" x  11.5" The show will include 40 encaustic artists and will open on October 8, 2011.

Here is a link to the press release for this show and a list of artists http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1105780002034-22/EAI+Juried+Show.pdf

Thanks to my friend and photographer Jill Greene for the beautiful photos she takes of my work.

Encaustic Vessel

This graceful form by Katherine Glover is a three dimensional encaustic piece.
Her vessel is a combination of pleated silk and encaustic medium and was chosen for the Encaustic 2009 Juried Exhibit.  To view this show or find out more about encaustic paints, and the upcoming Encaustic 2011 call for entries visit this link:   rfpaints.com

 Visit Katherine's website to see more of her work  

http://www.katherineglover.com/gallery/encaustic.html

An evening of Food, Wine and Art

Ready to begin

The Display of my paintings

The afternoon of the event
Later that evening there were so many people on the street you couldn't see the door!

in process
It was a very busy evening and I talked for 3 hours straight. It was wonderful to introduce so many people to the encaustic process. Everyone was fascinated with the concept and had so many questions.

New Encaustic Work

The demonstration Friday night was a huge success and here you'll find some of my work that is featured this month at The Twigs and Leaves Gallery in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Bridging the Gap
7" x 9"
Encausti and Oil on panel

Captured
7" x 9"
Encaustic on panel

A Singing Bird
6" x 8"
Encaustic Collage on panel

Plumage
6" x 6"
Encaustic on cradled panel

Dragonfly Summer
8' x 8"
Encaustic on cradled panel

Urban Landscape
26" x 26"
Encaustic and oil on panel

Olive Trees
8" x 8"
Encaustic on cradled panel

Still Life
6" x 8"
Encaustic and oil pastel on panel

'

Art after Dark, ENCAUSTIC DEMONSTRATION

In the Heart of Historic Waynesville  98 N Main Street, Waynesville NC 28786 (828) 456-1940 Hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00-5:30 Sunday 1:00-4:00 (May - October)   www.facebook.com/twigsandleavesgallery    Art After Dark ~ August 5th Featuring Lynn Bland Lynn Bland, mixed media designer from Gatlinburg, TN (and Florida State University graduate), will be the featured artist at Art After Dark 6:00-9:00 PM on Friday, August 5th.     Lynn will be demonstrating encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, which involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added.        Metal tools and special brushes can be used to shape the paint before it cools.  Lynn uses other materials that she encases or collages into the surface, or layers using the encaustic medium to adhere to the surface.  The result is a creative and beautifully unique piece of art. Stroll the gallery and view 140+ artists, while enjoying piano music, complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres.

Exploring Art

Looking at the art of some of my favorite artists is an enjoyable way to take a break from creating.
 Since I have been very busy working in wax getting ready for a demonstration I will be doing, I need to see work other than my own. The demo is at Twigs and Leaves Gallery, in North Carolina, and when the work is framed I will post some of it. .

  Donna Watson's paintings are elegant in their simplicity, always a challenge to accomplish using just the right amount of puzzle pieces to complete a work. She does it so well. I have such a fondness for nests and really like where she has placed this one. Please visit her website to see more of her work. It seems she also enjoys gardening, another good way to take a break from your artwork, as she has posted lovely photos of her  Zen garden on her blog.

Histories

24 x 24 

Spring + Light

Another artist that does understated beautifully is Rebecca Crowell. The textural quality of these paintings is what draws me to them. Visit her site http://www.rebeccacrowell.com for more like these. 

lanlanzarote l

lantimanfayal 1

My Workspace and things I like to create with!

Welcome!

My reading area

Fun Stuff

Inspiration

Colorful Fabrics

More Fun Stuff

Sewing Corner

And more fun stuff

my easel

Mediums

Some Acrylics

I didn't show my wax area as I've shared it before in this blog and can be viewed in that earlier post. I love my studio and would rather be here as anywhere else. Although my flower gardens are strong competition at this time of year.  

And my books ( just a small sampling) I can't resist an art book or any book for that matter. Right now I am reading,
Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See, a wonderful account of China when Mao took over and it became communist, Ape House, by Sara Gruen, and Art and Fear , by Bayles and Orland (which I re-read often and I recommend this to every artist)

Larger Than Life

I am back from my travels, and ready to get back to the business of making art. I did enjoy looking and photographing a variety of beautiful and inspiring things. Since I had my camera with me everywhere I went, I took many photos and loved looking through the viewfinder at partial images. These serve as inspiration and challenge my compositional skills. I have heard these images referred to as  "found art" and for a lack of a more creative term, here are my offerings.