Here is what I did at Penland!

I did finish a few paintings, in between making medium, and listening to all the wonderful
demos Lisa gave us. She is a very generous teacher with her techniques.

One of the exercises she gave the class was a challenge to do a series of small studies using black and  white with shades of gray in between. I was intrigued and thought I would try it also. These are my results.

























I will share more of my work in the next post.

Paper made from stones!

A friend of mine had a new product for me to test out that she had just received from Cheap Joe's.
It's a new kind of paper for artists and is made without using trees. Terraskin is totally fabricated from stone.

This from their website:

"TerraSkin is a combination of Calcium Carbonate (>75%) with a small quantity (<25%) of non-toxic resin (PE – Polyethylene) to create a strong sustainable substrate. Together these materials create a substrate that is both water and tear resistant!"

I've noticed that because of the fiberless quality of TerraSkin, it does't absorb paint like traditional paper and has a unique texture and feel. Images stay much crisper and cleaner because the paint sits on the surface. Color can be lifted very easily and areas can be wiped off and repainted.

Here are my first attempts using acrylics on Terraskin!

Acrylic paint on Terraskin paper available from
cheapjoes.com 

This one is in process, But I loved the way the paint created the bubbles on the right. I have chalked in 3 figures and I'm not sure if I'll keep them.

Back to the Heat

I'm ready for some instant gratification and what better way than to heat up my encaustic palette and get to work. I will share some earlier works that haven't been on this blog and then a preview of new works on the drawing board. I've always dreamt of doing an installation and I am working toward that end.

Close To The Sun

This painting was chosen to be included in the EAI ( Encaustic Art Institute) juried show.

It is 6" x  6" in size and framed in a matte black museum floater frame. There is no glass on this type of frame, so the beautiful quality of the wax can be seen. This piece has a lot of texture in some places and is smooth and glassy in other spots. I have used a small amount of amber shellac on the surface and burned it in with a torch to give the bubbling effect.

                                                                     

View From Lake Louden

This piece is part of the Arrowmont Sevier County Biennial Juried Show, and will be on display through March in the main gallery. This artwork is framed in a matte black museum frame without glass and  measures 17" X 17" in size.

Fall Migration

This is a 12" X 12" encaustic work with a lot of surface texture in the top half of the painting, contrasting with the smooth reflective area below. It is left unframed with the cradled sides finished, which eliminates the need for a frame.

This next group is my newest work and is in the very beginning designing phase. These little paintings are on 4" X  4" X 2" blocks of wood. My intention is to combine all 9 of them and hang  them as a group (installation). Not sure yet what the configuration will be; possibly 3 rows of 3 across, or all 9 across. That decision will wait until they are completed. This is just the first layer,(some paintings can have 20 layers)  I really like these clear colors and simple lines.

Emporium Gallery Exhibit

I was fortunate to be included in the recent exhibition at the Emporium Gallery on Gay Street in Knoxville, TN.

The 12 x 12 cradled panels are oil and cold wax. The larger ones on the opposite wall are acrylic collage.

Patera Series: 1
12" x 12" x 1"

detail 

Patera Series: 2
12" x 12" x 1"

Red Vessel

10" x 10"x 2"

detail

Vessels
12" x 12" x 1"

These paintings will soon be for sale in my etsy shop: notsobland.etsy.com

Olive Trees

Olive Trees
8" x 8"

This piece was inspired by a recent trip to Italy during harvest time.
There were so many beautiful fields of Olive Trees everywhere. They look, "oh so delicious", ripe and juicy, ready to be eaten. But don't eat one off the tree, they are not delicious at all. They are very bitter. Ha, ha ha,we learned the hard way.
The technique I used on this painting is called incising and each of those thin lines are made with a sharp needle tool, another clay tool, that works well in wax.
To make the line black, an oil stick in pushed into the recesses, let dry and buffed away.  Tube oil paint can also be used, but must be exposed to the air for several hours to thicken, then used.
This painting was donated to Arrowmont School of Art, in Gatlinburg for Auction. It's a beautiful campus here offering a wide variety of classes in all mediums.

February's Work

This is acrylic on crescent board with lots of texture. I did a grid composition so I could experiment with texture in the different boxes. I used Golden Crackle Paste, Light Modeling Paste, Gesso and Matte Gel.
They each give a very unique surface, and take the paint so differently. I especially love the way the crackle came out when the paint was thinned before applying. The designs are hand carved stamps I made, and the text is from old book pages collaged on the surface.

Also acrylic with a textured surface of Matte Gel and Gesso. This is definitely in process and I may cover the whole painting with an opaque mask.

This one is acrylic with collage and ink on canvas. I added some marks and line drawings with pencil.

This one is on Crescent Illustration Board that I covered with collage, stamping, and lots of drawing.  I used stencils for the numbers. Then I negative painted around the shapes to create the composition. I am
happy with this one and it is finished.

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 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

Photographer, Cara Barer

Look at these amazing book sculptures by photographer, Cara Barer. Unfortunately the photos are not very clear and these deserve a closer look. Please go to her website  http://www.carabarer.com/ Select the last category, Sculpture, to see how lovely these are on her site.
After reading her story I learned her inspiration came from a public phone book. These book pages are stiffened and shaped with melted beeswax, so again, another unique way to use encaustic. Without speaking to her I don't know her process, but I can see the use of beeswax in many of her sculptures.  I was so impressed with the soft forms and flowing nature of these book pages.

Artists working in Beeswax

Spirit of Motion by Lisa Pressman from her website

This painting by Lisa Pressman is a 24 x 24 encaustic work. I love the way she uses the soft line work to define the composition,

 by Judy Wise from her website

These works by Judy Wise are 6 X 8. The dark, vibrant colors in these paintings are what drew me to them.

Getting A Little Fresh Air

My portable studio

Painting outdoors is great, as the lighting is fantastic and I don't have to worry about breathing any wax fumes.
There is an abundance of fresh, spring air for me to breathe.

My Inspiring View

Paper is a great porous surface to paint on when using wax. I am working on small 6x8 pieces of masonite with watercolor paper glued to the surface. The glue I use is white PVA and works very well, although care should be taken not to get any glue on the paper, since it is a plastic based adhesive. I press these under heavy books and wait 24 hours before painting.

I like to break up the surface of the white paper before I begin with the first layer of wax. I have used a shiva oil paint stick to draw lines. A sharpie marker, india ink or oil pastels also work well for drawing. It is important to remember not to use any acrylic paints or inks.

Under painting

On this one I have used watercolors to break up the surface with an under painting of color blocks. 

Imagery can be added after the wax has been applied as in the work above. The insect is a transfer I made with a toner copy. A thin layer of clear medium is brushed on the transfer.

I added these lines with a sharpie on top of the wax. A layer of clear encaustic medium is brushed over the surface, this will keep the marker from rubbing off. I love the way it always smears a little and softens the look of the line.

Back to Wax

In Process

oil sticks for drawing

Many brilliant colors to choose from. These are small blocks  of concentrated pigments suspended in encaustic medium.

The wax is heated to 250 degrees and becomes liquid. The thermometer sits directly on the heated palette so I can monitor it during painting.

The Paint

Warm and Ready




 

The Laboratory