February 2012
23 posts
4 tags
Day One
The new piece has begun and even better, I have new colors on the palette. :). I worked on the drawing yesterday and finished it this morning. After lunch, I began putting wax medium on my board. This one is a vertical, 18” x 12”. I already know that I’ve started with too thin a layer of wax, so I’ll start tomorrow with a couple of layers of clear medium. This first...
6 tags
It's a Wrap
Almost. I put a few details in today and then used oil bar to create form in some areas. I smear the bars on my palette then apply it to the piece with my fingers. I”m letting it settle down overnight and I’ll apply my final layers of clear medium tomorrow. I made more medium today too — I want plenty in my pan tomorrow so my brush won’t drag over the surface.
And...
4 tags
Hung!
My first group of encaustics are hanging in a gallery. We visited yesterday Asheville yesterday and were able to see them.
As always, Blue Spiral http://bluespiral1.com/ has done a lovely job. They are always kind and handle my work professionally. I’m so grateful to be associated with them. I hope to take them a few more in the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I was only able...
9 tags
I don't WANT a break....
I’m ready to walk back in this door! Wanting a break and needing a break are two very different things — and call for different reactions. I’ve been out of the studio for a couple of days and I’m ready to go back, SO ready. I’ve been reminded of how important it is to “step out” every now and then.
When I NEED a break, I rarely want one. I never...
Trust
I bought this tiny box from artist Cathy Rose many years ago. Her work has always grabbed me and continues to speak to me. This piece hangs over my encaustic palettes. It’s a reminder that I glance at daily. Some days, I pause but other days a good long stare is needed. http://cathyrose.com/gallery.htm
Wise Words
Your work is to discover your world then with all your heart give yourself to it. - Buddha
I think the secret is to stay engaged, to stay plugged in. It isn’t easy — it’s much more comfortable to drift away and pretend a decision was never made. But every action, every minute is a decision. The desire to let go and mentally walk into the woods and never look back can be...
Why THAT?
Easy answer :). This subject has everything I’m looking for. I’m fascinated by the wires and pipes winding around holes and knobs. I have no idea what all these elements are but I’m intrigued - ALWAYS intrigued.
The rest of the answer, honestly speaking, is that there is much that DOESN’T work for me. I want my paintings to be uniquely mine - that’s all I...
Bud!
The studio was a busy place this afternoon. Bud isn’t feeling well so his mom, Minnie, dropped him off to spend the afternoon with me. Dana Dog and Caleb kept an eye on him while I worked. Jelly and Misty stayed home so they wouldn’t stress our Bud while he isn’t feeling well. Later a group of friends came to work on Friends of Retriever rummage sale donations that are...
Stuck
When the brush sticks to my hand, I know I’m in the zone. Painting begins when I forget about process and lose myself in color, transitions, push and pull. That’s when things happen that I can’t explain later. That’s the good stuff.
It’s messy. It’s slightly out of control. It’s completely unpredictable. I love it.
Coming around the bend
I used oil bars today to build some form in a few areas and this piece began to turn the corner. As someone I respect used to say, it’s beginning to sing. In the same breath, I’m also investing so many hours in this piece that I’m getting apprehensive. I’m enjoying my time with this one and I’ve learned a lot. I’m putting a lot of color down in an almost...
Chair Max
Carm has started stealing my chair every time I get up — and getting it back isn’t easy. After years of painting 8 hours a day - and sometimes more - I’m still amazed at my wimpy endurance with encaustic. I worked four hours this afternoon and was ready to scoot out the door for the evening.
I’m still “perching” on the edge of my chair which is a tiring...
2 tags
Why We Do What We Do.
As I worked today I pondered the question. I see wonderful work by artists that I know is completed in hours if not less. I love the spontaneity of their work and admire the simplicity. But….I want to be engaged with a piece longer than that. I want to read a novel, not a short story! I often think of my paintings as friends - I get to know the piece as I work as if it is a...
9 tags
Space!!!!
I’ve made room to work on larger pieces and still reach what I need in a short reach, long reach, or two steps :). Timing CAN be everything. To my right are three heated palettes for pigmented wax medium with the vent fan above. Directly in front of me is a griddle for clear medium. The electric skillet is for making medium. When I’m making medium I work from the front of this...
7 tags
Working toward the Foreground
I’m home but my head is still in this painting. I started the day at 10am with a bag of cheetos and a Diet Mountain Dew. Every day should start with a nutritious breakfast. I worked till 3pm when the dogs were getting restless so I took them home and zoomed back to continue. They’ve started wanting to go home mid-day which is fine — I need some fresh air and a few minutes...
6 tags
The best part of being an artist is....
drumroll…..the best part is not dreading Monday! As a kid I hated the Lassie Show on Sunday night because it meant I was one bedtime from a Monday morning. When I worked a traditional job, Sunday nights were the worst — a long, structured week was ahead. Not to be negative, but those were tough times.
As a painter, I work hard and feel very committed — but I LOVE what I do....
Groovin'
Part of getting in a productive groove is figuring out a system. And I tend to not figure it out….I stumble over it and finally crash into it. I really think that has been the hardest part of learning to work with wax. The tools and process are so completely different from anything I’ve done before. As I pushed my pans closer together to make room for ONE MORE today, I saw...
3 tags
Mind Your Beeswax
http://pinterest.com/mindyourbeeswax/
When I first looked at Pinterest I thought it was for addicted shoppers - I didn’t get it. It slowly dawned on me that I could use it to collect what I’m interested in…and now I am….addicted.
It’s helping me become more curious. Surfing the web was awkward because I didn’t have a purpose OR I couldn’t stay on...
Road Trip!
Jelly, Misty, Dana Rogy, and I loaded our van and headed north yesterday. I decided it was time to get some feedback on my encaustic paintings from the staff of a trusted gallery. I’ve been working in near isolation for over a year and have been feeling the need to get a reading. What a reading means….I’m not sure. No one is going to change my mind about what I’m...
5 tags
Brilliant, right?
Painting storage is a BIG DEAL for me because of the the dumb stuff I’ve done in the past. Actually, I’ve done five dumb things — they’re named Carm, George, Noah, Smooch, and Spoon. With cats in the studio, paintings are NEVER left in the horizontal position!
This bakers rack is working great for encaustics and caseins. They’re protected from dust and little...
The Terror Begins
I’m starting the new piece. A ground of wax medium has been applied to the board in several layers, fusing after each. Here I’m carving the area away for my first layer of pigmented wax. This piece is the largest I’ve done yet and I could fill large areas with wax, making it harder to keep the painting surface level, so I’m segmenting my composition so I can avoid that...
6 tags
BIG
I photographed this in Chase, AL. It’s some kind of old englne that was on the ground, alone in a field. I love it and it’s probably still there - I need to go check. I did a watercolor of a portion of it several years ago and now, I’m using it as a subject for an encaustic. It will be large by my standards - 16” x 24”. I have no idea how this will develop in...
Layout
This is really getting funny. I struggled with how to add a fourth palette for weeks - the trick is that I want all my paint pans to the right of me but I can’t bring a brush of hot wax TOO FAR. You’d be surprised how big a deal I made of it. Anyway, I solved my problem last week and I’m working happily…..
Till now. I’ve decided to work on a larger board...
12 tags
Under Repair
That may be the title of this piece, seriously. I’ve learned more about “fixing things” on this one that I ever wanted to know! My wax was too thin in one area and it didn’t become evident until my final four or five layers of “apply and scrape back”. I learned a new use for a bamboo tool yesterday and the value of preserving a little of my base wax colors...