New drawings/paintings...They Were Standing in the Shadows Watching

After some thinking, asking, & experimenting....I've finished some drawings/paintings on paper (I never know what to call them-- what do you say?) of an image I've had in my head for a while. These are each 15 x 15" on thick watercolor paper. I started with a charcoal base which I then over painted with white acrylic. The mixture of the white and the charcoal produced the grays and I then drew into it with a stick of graphite.

I was so happy with these that I also did a large drawing and then translated the imagery to encaustic paintings--- I'll post pictures of those soon!

Will be available on my website soon!

I need YOUR story for a new art project!

So, I'm working on a new art project. I'd like to have other people help me by sharing your stories and photos. This can be about you or you can enlist someone else to submit their info to me. ((Feel free to pass on this info!))

Here's a vague idea-- I don't want to taint it with details so I'm trying to keep it simple:

Tell me how you feel tied down and/or rooted to something/someone/place/whatever OR how you have felt knocked down.

It can be a good or a bad thing.
It can be sad, funny, plain, or grand.
A story of any length will work (one sentence or a long story).
This can be anonymous to the world or have your name and location attached, your choice.
I need a clear photograph of the participant which I will slightly alter to work with my project.


Email me the above and if I will send you a release form so that I can use your story & image.
jamieribisi {at} gmail.com

Website updated!

I finished upgrading my website! I'm so excited to finally unveil it. I've been working very hard and trying to figure out exactly what I wanted for it and, well, here it is!!! Please take a look and let me know what you think-- I'd love some feedback: http://jamieribisi.com

New paintings

(On the Verge; Encaustic, Oil Pastel, & Charcoal; 4" x 4")

I've been looking to create some new paintings to enter into the First Annual Autumn Arts Painting Challenge & Competition on Facebook led by some pretty awesome ladies/artists. Really got me thinking about creating imagery free of collage-- I wanted these paintings to be pure creation- just as the Fall is. I started with this tiny block in order to experiment with some new (to me) ideas. I wanted to use oil pastels directly on the hot plate and then mix some encaustic medium into it. This creates a very rich color that is a nice thickness. I fused it into the encaustic painting and it's interesting to see how differently it moves than just regular encaustic paint. For the specks, I crushed up some charcoal and embedded it into the painting. I wanted my next effort to have finer charcoal so.....

(Untitled; Encaustic, Oil Pastel, Charcoal, & Graphite; 12" x 12")

I wanted to challenge myself to make these next two paintings vibrant with lots of movement so I started this one with a thick pink background. I scraped the lines at the bottom right in with the tip of a sharp woodless pencil and the dots on the top left are finger prints of the super crushed charcoal with medium placed on top of it.

(Backwoods Sermon; Encaustic, Oil Pastel, & Graphite; 12" x 12")
I had this fresh green that I made and my husband said, "Slap that all over the place!" haha So I did! I used the oil pastels directly on top of the wax and also as a mixture from the hotplate as described above. I fused them until I was happier with the mixture and kept layering it all. Then I took my sharp pencil and scraped in these tree images. There's a nice dimensional quality to it with the indents that the lines made all the way through the wax until it hit the board.

I'm very happy with the results and looking forward to painting more! I love how this painting challenge made me think of moving in another direction-- it's just the pull I needed at the right moment.

Trick or Treat...

Halloween is my super-favorite time of the year! It's not just the ghouls, ghosts, and vampires that get me (although I really do love that part, too!) but it's the colors!

Fall is my favorite time of the year bringing into my head all the memories of my childhood. Halloween takes me back to elementary school parades dressed in the best costumes ever. And walking around at night trick or treating in the crisp autumn air. I see it, I feel it, and I smell it. And those colors just take me back!

So I had to make a set of encaustic paint that went along with those memories. The Candy Corn set of three wax paints is what resulted. I even photographed it on an old beat up grey chair to keep going along with the vision-- how I love it all!

This is also part of the Maine Team Halloween Scavenger Hunt -- join in, it starts today!!

A new home for Abe...

A few months ago I completed a series of ten paintings and immediately installed them in the Freeport Square Gallery in Freeport, Maine. The series is entitled "Mummies of the Civil War" and features prominent officers on each side of the fence. There are 5 Union men and 5 Confederate men, each molded into their own mummified form, to be preserved in their history for eternity.

The link between the Civil War images that I'm so drawn to and the history of encaustic paint going back to Egyptian times is what inspired these paintings. They each measure 10" x 22" and are on cradled birch.

Today I found out that Abe Lincoln sold-- hurray! I'll be posting more very soon-- still working on my website relaunch and on the class schedule and renovation of Sweetland Retreat.

Ring around the hot plate...

Encaustic monotypes are starting to be a fun new pasttime of mine! I love noodling with it and seeing what results I can get. KISS is my new mantra for this project -- "Keep It Simple, Stupid"

Simplicity is key while working with this techinique, especially from the beginning. You can't be tied to a full thought or idea in your head because monotypes don't work that way. And, certainly, hot monotypes don't work that way! They tend to have a mind of their own. Which is fine as long as that's the only thing that you're counting on to happen correctly :)

More to come....

Rings in the Sand
Encaustic & Oil Pastel Monotype
approximately 9" x 3" on watercolor paper
August 2009

XO

I've been MIA from my blog but I assure you-- I've been working hard! Teaching workshops, getting Sweetland Retreat up and running, home renovations, and summer heat; it's keeps a gal busy.

But I wanted to share with you a sample of a new treat-- Encaustic monotypes! This one is called "XO, three over nine" and made with encaustic paint and oil pastel. This was painted & drawn directly on a warm hotplate and then the print was pulled from it. It's a tough process but I love the unexpected result and guesswork.

I'll be listing it in my Etsy shop soon but I've just been enjoy 'the making' these days-- I have more to share and will be back in action posting more to my blog each week.

I still love you!

XO, three over nine
Encaustic & Oil Pastel Monotype
9" x 5"
August 2009

Encaustic workshop results...

I am so impressed with the work that was produced at my Intro to Encaustic Painting workshop! The women came with such great enthusiasm and excelled SO fast!! They each made 3-4 paintings that were astonishingly beautiful. Each armed with a box full of mixed media supplies and stories behind all of their materials, it was really breathtaking for me to watch them create.

These first two are by Leslie Goode, who comes from a background of fiber arts. She brought with her natural elements such as birch bark, leaves, chinese lanterns, and rocks. The square painting started with a layer of orange encaustic which she then covered with her handmade paper. Once she fused it on with the tacking iron, the orange came through in the thinner spots of the paper creating a very beautiful textured painting.

Ronnie Decker is a mixed media artist and public school art

teacher who wanted to learn encaustic for a long time. She was so enthusiastic and came to the class toting horse hair, plastic onion bags, and feathers, amongst many other great items. She was a natural at letting the medium take over and seeing where it wanted to lead her to.

I have more photos of the rest of the class which I will blog about again...I really hope to see these ladies again in my intermediate class to see what other wonders they will create!!

The very best part of teaching is watching another artist move through the process. Seeing what they bring to the table and why; the stories behind the work and the end results. It makes me very proud to have the opportunity to work with them!!

Webcam heads up..

Heads up- I plan on setting up my webcam while I paint encaustic tonight- come check it out! I have a new series that I'm going to start working on- inspired by my painting below. They are still civil war focused but they'll be on long boards and looking more like mummies. I'm so excited! Hope it all works out tonight- I plan on turning on the webcam around 5:30pm. I'll update here when starting.
Live right now! http://www.sweetlandretreat.com/blog.htm