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 drawing table.  The white shelf unit has drawers of tools, cakes of prepared medium, oil paint, R&F encaustic paint, paper towels, razor blades, etc.  To the left of my chair is my drawing table for preparing plans and drawings.  Behind me are shelves for boards, books, raw materials (beeswax, damar resin, soy wax), frames, pans and utensils for making medium, etc.  

This should work for a while…. 

The Color of Berries

Berries start like this.  Red, orange, maroon, and yellow is on the palette to the left.  Encaustic is a messy business and I’m getting used to it.  I never clean brushes and I’ve quit using my soy wax completely.  I think that’s progress!

My painting day was interrupted but I managed to start attaching some berries.  I want to get a few in before I begin clustering more leaves.  I’ll add more berries in the final layers.

And they just don’t get cuter than this.  Dana burrows in and all I usually see exposed is her nose….or her tail.  She’s precious and quiet as a mouse around the studio.  She loves going every morning and is happy to settle into my office chair and snooze through the day.  She’s going to make someone a terrific companion.  

I need Beeswax quick!

I’m out!  It’s ordered but I can’t make medium till it comes in.  Drat!  Poor planning….how did I let this happen?

Today I continued with the gourd foliage.  Carving, filling, and scraping back.  

Periodically I add a layer of medium, scrape back to a smooth finish, and fuse.  This layer isolates and protects the work I’ve done (to a degree) and adds depth as the piece builds.  

I still have pigmented wax medium on the palette so I can continue to work on the design, but I’m out of medium so I can only go so far.

When the beeswax arrives, hopefully tomorrow, it will take a few hours to prepare medium and get rolling again. This is where I left it tonight