Of Bees and Trees - The paintings

One last catch-up post because I said I would blog about my art show and then I didn't and 2014 is almost over. 

I had a show of my encaustic paintings, Of Bees and Trees, at the Smithers Art Gallery from Oct 28 - Nov 26 so much of the year was spent either painting or stressing about the paintings that I needed to get done.  It was kind of scary to put myself out there like that but I got lots of positive feedback and sold a few paintings, too.  Here are a few pieces from the show.

Sunflower, Good Morning, Encaustic, 24x24"

White Rose, Encaustic, 24x24"

Poppies I, Encaustic, 8x24"

Poppies II, Encaustic, 8x24"

Yellow Lily in Red Bowl, Encaustic, 24x24"

One with the Sun, Encaustic, 24x24"

Autumn Beauty, Encaustic, 8x24"

Now I am putting away my encaustic paints until next summer when I can work outside or in my studio with the door wide open.

Warming Up for a Show

I've been accepted into a gallery show at the Smithers Art Gallery next fall with my encaustic paintings so I'm going to have to be more efficient with my time to be ready for the show and still have time to work on other things, like jewelry.  Deadlines can be a good thing.

Yellow Pear - encaustic on cradled board - 6x6"

Here's a small warm-up piece I completed in my studio today.  I love the colours.  Not a combination that I would normally use but that's why I decided to use them together.  One of the best things about an obligation that requires me to produce a lot of work over a relatively short period of time, is that I find myself reaching in different directions, sometimes deliberately and sometimes accidentally.  Encaustic in particular has a way of taking you off course just because of how the medium moves.  Sometimes the final result doesn't have even a germ of the idea I started with.  Sometimes it makes me laugh, and sometimes I cry.  I like laughing more.

Encaustic Garden Party

I recently discovered a Canadian shop on Etsy that makes and sells beautiful encaustic paints.  The Bees Knees is located in Ontario.   My first order arrived this week so I squeezed in some time to play yesterday.

Just a few of the luscious colours the Bees Knees carries.

 I use a warming tray that I picked up at Valu Village for $3.99 and melt the paints in a muffin tin.  This electric tray doesn't have variable settings but I checked and it keeps the melted wax at close to 200 degrees F.  The muffin tin fits perfectly on the surface and it's nice and stable.

Melting down the encaustic paints

For my support, I like the cradled wood panels that I can purchase from Opus Framing and Art, a supplier in Vancouver, BC.  These panels are also made from a readily renewable resource, as the hardwood is from the fast growing Paulownia tree. The Paulownia tree can grow from 10 to 20 feet in a season — an entire tree can even regrow in one season after being severely cut back.  The panels come in a variety of sizes and depths.  They also carry great front loading wood frames in black that compliment the encaustic paintings very well.

I like to finish the sides with acrylic paint so I cover them in blue painters tape while I complete the encaustic painting so I don't have to clean up drips later.

And here is my finished piece!  'Garden Party' is an expression of the happy feeling of celebration I get whenever I look at my beautiful summer flowers.

Garden Party, 6x6", encaustic on cradled board

Follow the Sun

Encaustic painting offers the perfect opportunity for control freaks like myself to let go.

Follow the Sun - Encaustic on cradled board - 11x14

As I learn more about ways to control the medium, I also find myself working out ways to to let the paint do what it wants to do to take advantage of its special qualities.  If I want a painting with perfect control, I can use my acrylics or oils.  I want something different from my encaustic paintings.

Sun Worshiper (Encaustic)

Once again, the road in my journey was twisting and winding so I got a bit lost but then found myself somewhere I liked better than my originally planned destination.

Sun Worshiper - Mixed Media Encaustic -12x12 on cradled board

 This is a mixed media piece using both encaustic and oil stick.  It was a challenge to both let go and keep control.  I think in my next painting I'm going to drop the control part and see what happens.

Trying Out Photo Transfers with Encaustic

This was another new technique for me with encaustic.  Actually I tried out a couple of new techniques in these two pieces.

Yawn of Fire - 6x8" Encaustic on cradled board

I had copies made of my poppy photos on a colour copier at the local stationery store.  The transfer is done by burnishing the photo, right side down, on to the warm wax.   After carefully removing the paper by gently rubbing with my fingertips and water and letting it dry, I heat fused the transfer to the layer of wax below.  This part is tricky because if you over do it, the toner dissolves away in the wax.

Papaver - 6x8" Encaustic on cradled board

Another technique I used in these two pieces was leaf printing.  After painting on a couple of layers of encaustic paint and fusing them to the layer below, I used poppy leaves to make impressions into the warm wax.  After painting over the leaves with another colour of encaustic paint and then fusing that layer, I removed the leaves from the still warm wax and then carefully fused the leaf prints.  Both pieces are embellished with poppy centres that I had pressed and dried in the spring.

Melange Team Monthly Challenge (Rain)

This month's challenge prompt on the Melange Team blog is "Rain."  My ideas for this one were as dried up as our forests right now but while creating a different piece yesterday, this one evolved.

MacArthur Park - Encaustic Mixed Media - 8x8 cradled board

This is my favourite encaustic painting so far.  I want to sing MacArthur Park every time I look at it but hopefully I get that out of my system before I show it anywhere!

Binta Fire (Encaustic)

For most of August we have been plagued with the constant smoke from fires to the west and east of us.  The sun in late afternoon and early evening was often a blazing ball of red.

Binta Fire - Encaustic  on cradled board - 12x12

 

 

 

 

Encaustic was a natural choice for this painting, both for its association to heat and fire and for its unpredictable nature.