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.

Three Sailboats

Three Sailboats
18 x 18

This painting was done on a wood panel from American Easel. The panel has a 2 1/2" deep cradle.
This is the first time painting on this type of support and  I found the natural wood an excellent surface for the melted beeswax. I highly recommend trying it. I usually prime my panels with encaustic gesso, but with this one, I could eliminate that step and get right into the first layer of the painting. The depth also eliminates the need for a frame and keeps any warping from happening. The sides can be taped and left raw, or painted with acrylic paint.
These panels are also ideal for mixed media work because they will take a lot of scratching and scraping and it is strong enough to glue heavy objects onto it.

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.

Working with a hot palette

Working on an encaustic collage

The image of the bird in this painting is an image transfer on wax. Transfers on wax are so

simple to do. A copy of the image is made on a toner copy machine. The image appears in the reverse, so if there is any text it will have to be reversed before copied. The image is then turned face down and pressed to the surface. A wooden spoon or burnishing tool is now used to press the image into the wax. The back of the image is dampened with water and let rest for 3-4 minutes.  Begin rubbing gently with fingertips in a circular motion until all the paper pulp is removed. The toner ink image is left. See below for the finished painting.

Urban Landscape
22" x 22"

Sunflowers
6" x 6"

Carolina Wetlands
18" x 18"

Plumage 8" x  8" 

Achieving a smooth encaustic surface

A Bird In This World
10" x 10"

This piece has the luminous, smooth surface that is typical of encaustic medium. Many layers are built up in the same way as a textured surface, so this painting still has approximately 8-10 separate layers. In order to get a smooth flat look, the surface must be hand scraped after each addition of paint. The paint should be slightly warm to the touch. If it is too warm, or if you scrape too deep, all the color from that layer will be removed. It's a judgement thing and takes a little practice to avoid making ridges.
For years I used single edge razor blades or long handled razor blade scrapers that house painters use.
These become dull quickly and are awkward to keep level.
I have found the perfect thing for the job, and it is used by potters for sculpting clay. It is a loop clay tool and comes in many sizes and, can be purchased where pottery supplies are sold.

I have utilized my hand dyed papers for collage and stenciling to create the crisp, bold images.

Taking Encaustics Outside the Box

Nancy Natale

This painting is a collage of papers that have been dipped and painted with encaustic paint. Nancy works with old book spines, found and painted papers, and collage.

Lorraine Glessner
One of the things that draw me to this artists work is her delicate use of line. She uses long strands of human hair collaged under the encaustic medium to achieve this technique.

Brenda Mallory Capsules, 2006-2011,
 Waxed cloth, nuts, bolts, 11 units, each 10" x 10" x 17"

Beautiful three dimensional cloth objects can be encased in wax to give strength to an encaustic piece

Exciting texture can be added by imbedding paper and cloth into the surface. The wax also acts as an adhesive if heavier objects are to be imbedded, and they need not be completely submerged in the wax.

Perfect Specimens, Encaustic Collage
Lynn Corsi Bland

Exquisite detail can be achieved by transfering a photo copied image directly to the surface of the wax. The lines were drawn on the wax with a sharp needle and then filled in with black oil pastel.

Lynn Corsi Bland
encaustic and oil pastel


Another method to add drawing and line work like this piece, is to start with a drawing on paper. Watercolor paper is collaged to the surface of the board and the sketching is done on the paper before the wax is added with oil pastel. The painting can be completed using pigmented encaustic paint. 

The artists for these beeswax pieces are anonymous, but they show us the grace and beauty that nature gives us everyday. We, as artists, try, but the perfection evidenced here cannot be duplicated.

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.

A Unique Approach to Encaustic Painting

Laura Moriarty

 These examples of artist Laura Moriarty's work show her approach to painting with beeswax.

This example of Laura's work is an encaustic monoprint on paper. The blending of the deep colors and softness of her edges is quite a contrast to her heavily carved pieces below.

Detail of Painting Below

Accretionary Wedge

 In the painting above she paints many layers and then carves back into the wax creating a multi-dimensional surface. 

To view more of her work visit her website  http://www.lauramoriarty.com/

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.

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