Showing posts with label encaustic. Show all posts

More Nature, More Squares

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Thursday, December 30, 2010 | , , , 1 Comment

Nature Squares, 6" x 6" each, Encaustic & Photo Transfer

Loving the simplicity of high contrast photo transfers on a bed of wax! I have a total of 15 squares and 4 rectangles. The counting of which led me to wonder the amount of paintings that I made in 2010. Well, folks, I completed 36 paintings! (plus a few that I'm still on the fence about being finished) That's definitely a record for me.

And thinking back to my days in college, especially my senior year, I had a battle with making any paintings. But having inspiration all around you really changes the game. I went to college in Boston and being in a city inspired my drawings and my photography, which I wound up being prolific in those years. But paintings? Yeah, I didn't do much. I did spend my senior year really studying color and mixing oil paint like crazy on my palette. But that doesn't make for finished pieces. I do think that it helped me in my profession, for sure. I'm happy to have spent the time focused on that (although I know my professor thought otherwise).

Anyway... Living in Maine, being surrounded by nature, having a studio space... it keeps me inspired! Looking forward to what the new year brings.

Nature Squares

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Monday, December 6, 2010 | , , , 2 Comments


On this wonderful winter's snowy day in Maine I'm taking some me time to update my Etsy shop and share my new work!







Each painting is 6" x 6" on cradled wood and is painted with encaustic. The images are transfers of my digital photographs done using the Xerox and water transfer method.


Encaustic exhibit opens today!

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Friday, June 25, 2010 | , , , Leave a comment

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!

Student work

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | , , Leave a comment

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.

New encaustic painting

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Monday, April 5, 2010 | , , , , , 4 Comments


The Tree Is the Real Thing
Encaustic & Mixed Media on wood
24" x 24"
April 2010

title from the quote: "Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
-Abraham Lincoln

I started this large encaustic painting in June of last year and I finally finished it today! What a great feeling to get this monkey off of my back :) Seriously though, I've had a good time trying out some new techniques and color schemes and trying to make it all meld.

I had known that I wanted to use this image but I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it. It went through many lives, as I posted in an animated gif last year, and I finally pared it down to the elements that I thought it really needed. This was supposed to be another in the series of "Ghost of the Past" but it definitely has a different story than the others so I'm letting it into the world on its own.


Passage - small Encaustic Painting

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Thursday, March 4, 2010 | , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Passage
Encaustic on cradled wood
6" x 6"
February 2010

Exploring more ghosts, the afterworld, and communication with the beyond!

This is a small painting-- sort of a study for some larger pieces I've been stewing about for a while. I'm thinking about pattern, carving, and multiple figures. Trying to work out these visions in my head that are a bit foggy. Will hopefully have something started on them soon.


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Teeny Tiny Paintings...

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The art opening was a huge success! What a beautiful show filled with wonderful people and glorious artwork. It was very inspiring to see so much tiny art! I even purchased a teeny tiny acrylic portrait on wood of a lumberjack :) There were actually two shows, both in Portsmouth, NH. Mine was at Three Graces Gallery and was the Teeny Tiny Art Show and down the street at Nahcotta was the Enormous Tiny Art Show. I saw many friend's work at both shows and that was so exciting for me!


Three Graces now has my encaustic paintings from this exhibit for sale on their website-- you can see my new series "Speaking in Tongues" there-- first place they have been on sale! And one of my favorite new pieces "They Were Standing in the Shadows (Watching) #1".

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A big box full of paintings...

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Wednesday, January 27, 2010 | , , , , , , 2 Comments

Yesterday I packed up 16 small encaustic paintings to ship for the Teeny Tiny Art Show at Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NH. I'm so excited to go to the opening next Friday! It's going to be so much fun to see all of them up together and amongst other teeny tiny work! I can't recall ever seeing so many of my pieces hung at one time. How cool?


If you're in the area, come on down 5-8pm on Friday February 5th, 105 Market St, Portsmouth, NH.

I'll be the one buying up everyone else's work! I'm not sure what I'm more excited about, showing my work or buying other's work!

I'm updating my website as we speak with these new pieces-- I'll share once it's uploaded.
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Color Swatches for encaustic paint!

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Tuesday, January 12, 2010 | , , , , , , , 1 Comment








I just added these color swatches to my website so that customers can now pick from the pigment that I have available. I can always custom mix any color from these, too, as I love to do! I've been wanting to add this to my website and I'm so glad that I have because I love looking at it--- I'm such an art supply junkie!!!



New year, new work

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Friday, January 1, 2010 | , , , , , 3 Comments

I'm hoping that in this new year I will allow myself more time to paint and focus on my work. I've been accepted to a new show in February and am creating some new small works for it. I have some plans to create large pieces and get my work out into the public eye a bit more. Here's to 2010!



(top-bottom: Speaking in Tongues 1 & 2, 5 x 7" each, Encaustic on cradled wood

New paintings

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Monday, October 26, 2009 | , , , , , 8 Comments


(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...

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | , , , , , , 6 Comments

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...

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Monday, September 28, 2009 | , , , , , , 1 Comment

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...

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Thursday, August 27, 2009 | , , , , 3 Comments

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

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Wednesday, August 19, 2009 | , , , , 5 Comments

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...

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Friday, July 3, 2009 | , , , , , , 5 Comments

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..

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Monday, June 22, 2009 | , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

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

B&W Exhibit

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Saturday, June 13, 2009 | , , , , , , 6 Comments

Two of my encaustic paintings are hanging at the Freeport Square Gallery in Freeport, ME. Both of my black & white Ghosts of the Past paintings for their B&W show. The gallery is absolutely beautiful and we also had the chance to see a live concert there last night- very cool!

Ghost hunter...

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | , , , , , 12 Comments


Animated gif of the progress of my latest painting.  It's still in progress, just one more day working on it and I think it'll be done.  I really like seeing how this one has moved along!  I kept changing my mind about what colors I wanted it to be and put this painting aside for a while.  Then I decided to turn Abe into a rooted being and it all started to come together.

Craft Fair & friends

By Jamie Ribisi-Braley | Sunday, May 31, 2009 | , , , , 4 Comments

Yesterday was the Etsy Maine Team craft fair in Freeport, ME. It was SO much fun to put more faces to names and meet people like Pam that I've known online for about a year and a half! LOVE when that happens.

The quality of the work at this show far surpassed any other show that I've done. No "granny" items, no $1 store finds or prices, it was quality all the way with fair prices for everything. I was impressed and honored to be a part of it!

I even had some interest in my encaustic classes, which is the best part for me! I love explaining the process to people and seeing their eyes light up and have them ask if they can learn it :)

Anyway- for more Maine Team info look here!



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