In my recent encaustic experiments I've been trying to embed texture such that it sits just beneath the smooth polished wax surface. I'm also exploring techniques for creating line. In the top image, I used Friskars plastic texture plates to get the swirly pattern pressed into the warm wax, then I applied further layers of encaustic medium, and scraped it back with a razor blade. The circle is made by incising a line into the warm wax, then filling it with black pigmented encaustic, and scraping it back. In the second piece, I scraped texture into the first layers of encaustic with various tools, then rubbed oil paint into it. After another coat of encaustic medium was applied, I incised the lines, filled them with paint, and applied yet another coat of medium. I am not looking for any particular result at this point. My experiments are just that, experiments, in search of whatever comes out. I got a sheet of birch faced plywood and had it cut into 8" squares. That makes 72 panels! Before applying the encaustic, I'm laminating each panel with a sheet of watercolor paper to give it a white background. Stay tuned!
I am finding these two books VERY helpful and inspirational:
Encaustic Art, by
Lissa Rankin, and
The Art of Encaustic Painting, by
Joanne Mattera. I'm also taking an encaustics and collage workshop at
Studio Place Arts in Barre, VT, on November 12. Beth Kendrick is a fabulous teacher!
Happy Post-Thanksgiving Weekend! This coming year I will be offering a new workshop on Art Basics. Color, composition, and materials will be the main focus, and it is intended for students who are new to art-making, those who have been away from art for a long time and would like a refresher on basics, or anyone who wants to gain a little more confidence in the use of color and composition. The working title is "Creative Beginnings: Unlocking the Secrets of Color", but I may think of something more concise once I start teaching it. So.... I am having a WAY fun time developing exercises that demonstrate the power of color and how it can be used effectively in composition. For each of the collage-paintings above, I focused on one primary color, but incorporated bits of collage and patterned paper for interest. These basically monochrome paintings offer the opportunity to explore the nuances of a single color, and see how much variation you can get out of it. I've incorporated many of the techniques I teach in Scribble Collage in these pieces, as I will in the workshop. Stay tuned for 2011 workshop dates!
