Archive for June 2010

Encaustic exhibit opens today!

I'm so excited for the opening of the Luminous Layers exhibition! Even though I can't be there in person, I am there in spirit and in paint :) Two of my painting were accepted into the juried show and I'm so proud to see one of them at the bottom of the postcard that they sent out (pictured above).


I really do wish I could be there-- there are tons of demos and talks. Mostly I would have loved to meet the other artists in person! The online encaustic world is always buzzing with excitement (pun intended) and I feel like I already know everyone but it would be so nice to actually meet them.

Another time, I'm sure!

a little peek




A little peek at what I was working on today. These are 11x14" canvases that I repainted over (failed attempts from long ago). These are made from oil paint, oil bars, and oil pastels.

Looking down a parallel path

I've been in a sort of rut for a while. Thinking of where to go next, artistically. The imagery hasn't totally shown itself to me and I've been wondering how to coax it along.


I recently won a gift certificate for art supplies through Dick Blick and took the opportunity to get some new art supplies and venture into a new realm. I started with Gamblin Oil Ground to prep some large wood panels with. I also ordered some wide masking tape to keep the edges of the panels clean. Then I got a mix of black, white, & gray oil sticks which I've been dying to experiment with for a long time. I also threw in some charcoal powder and graphite powder. this is going to be fun!

I have a vague idea of what I want to do but I'm really excited to just start working and see where it goes. Using the Gamblin oil ground is pretty sweet. I've never used it before but was looking for a ground that could be used with encaustic, if I
decided to add that as a medium in the future of these pieces (acrylic gesso doesn't jive with wax). What I really like so far about the oil ground is the application. It only takes 2 layers-- the first can be slightly thinned with Turpenoid and applied with the side of an old credit or gift card! Yes-- exactly what I needed-- more household items to use as art supplies!!! This layer goes on so thin but is a very vibrant white. The
next layer, which I plan on doing tomorrow, is applied as-is from the can and takes a bit of time to dry but I think overall will be much nicer than acrylic gesso.

I'll be sure to keep you updated on the progress; hopefully the new materials will inspire me!

You can watch a really great video tutorial on the Gamblin oil ground here.

Student work

These wonderful paintings were created at the Intro To Encaustic Painting workshop that I taught last week at Sweetland Retreat. I love watching artists work and this group of 4 women worked so well together. They were constantly looking over to see what the next person was working on and giving each other ideas. I love the variety of techniques and materials that they used and wanted to share them with you!


(she used gold and silver leaf in her painting!)

The mermaid painting is done using layers of blue tissue paper.

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