"The secret to mastery in any field is to forever be a student." -
Martin Palmer
One of the goals I set for myself this year was to learn new things. In order to achieve this goal, I have recently taken a
class in Encaustics from
Stephanie Hargrave. I loved the class, and I loved having a chance to learn how to work with encaustic paint. I am still just getting the feel for the medium, and Stephanie gave us many new techniques to try.
You may be asking yourself, "what the heck is encaustic paint?" Encaustic paint is beeswax mixed with pigments and damar crystals. The damar gives the wax strength, and of course the pigment gives it color. The wax is applied in a melted, liquid state. The word "encaustic" means "to burn," so each layer has to be burned or fused into the previous layers. I have been working with the encaustic on birch panels and really loving it. I love the way it smells. I also love that you have to work quickly, before the wax cools and hardens.
The wax is melted in cans on top of a flat griddle. I started out using a heat gun to fuse each layer, but now I am using a torch. (I love the torch!)
The first few experiments mainly involved just practicing applying the wax, and learning how to fuse each layer. Then, we progressed to adding color, incorporating paper and tissue paper into the painting, and then we learned how to work with different types of line. These first two photos were paintings I did where I used some handmade paper.
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| 7 x 5 inches |
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| 8 x 8 inches |
The handmade paper was something I have had for a while. I made it with the expert help of my friend in Colorado,
Sally Mather. (thanks, Sally!) She showed me how to make paper when I visited once. I am so grateful to have talented friends who share their knowledge with me. SO THANKFUL! I love the textures that were created when I applied wax over the paper.
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| "Desert Tortoise." Encaustic, thread, twine, ink transfer, 8 x 8 inches |
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| "Sitting upright." (jackrabbit) Encaustic, thread, twine and ink transfer, 8 x 8 inches |
The second two images are the most recent encaustic paintings I've done. With these two, I was practicing using thread and twine to make lines. I also tried a technique where I did drawings in pencil, scanned them, printed them with a laser printer, and then transferred them to the warm wax. I love how they turned out, and I am probably going to try doing a few more like these.
Stephanie, if you read this, THANK YOU!!! I loved your class!
Speaking of learning, if you think you might want to learn some art this summer, I am teaching a class as part of Carla Sonheim's new
Summer Art Camp! The class I am teaching is called "Paint a Monster," and it is a class about learning how to paint light and shadow. (Using a Monster Finger puppet!) There are eight different artist/instructors in this art camp, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. If you sign up early, you will save $20! (Click the link above for more details, won't you please?) I hope you will join us for this fun online class. The material stays online for a year, so even if you are busy this summer, you can still take this class!!!
Finally, we had a wonderful opening last night at Jenny Q's Grateful Desert in Joshua Tree. I have eighteen paintings of desert animals hanging in the shop, and the show will stay up until August. So if you missed the opening, don't worry! You can still see the show the next time you are downtown. (Local folks) For those of you who live far away, maybe I will have a chance to make a short video of the show for you to see. Thanks to all who came out!
