Home studio

Here is where I am getting some work done currently.  Not as much as I'd like with all of the distractions of a new baby.  But when she's napping I steal  away to this room and paint.  I definitely feel a sense of urgency when I am working now.  Since I never know how much time I am going to get I tend to work in short spurts.  I enjoy my creative time more- I can't take it for granted.  I am also enjoying my time with Ingrid- I guess you could say I have the best of both worlds!

So, I've changed the painting a bit.  I never claimed to be the world's most conventional baby portraitist, but I am trying.  I really want a painting of my little munchkin- but not a cheesy "precious moments" type painting- it just wouldn't work in my house!  So here is my attempt.  I am happier with her picture but I am going to do Nugget over and probably Remedios too ( the black cat) cause she doesn't really fit in that corner.  

preoccupied

It will be a while before I can get back into posting regularly.  My painting schedule has been thrown out of whack by my other creative project and also a mishap that ended in a broken ankle.  I have done a few new pieces, however, but did not document the process.  Anyway, you can view the new work here:  www.annapodris.com/gallery/v/Newpaintings/

Spinning Snowflake, Thinking of and Owl



Here are two new finished encaustic paintings.  "Spinning Snowflakes" was featured in the previous post because I put an azalea flower in it and wondered if it would turn brown.  You can see on this post that it kind of did.  But it's a nice brown that seems to work with the piece.

Will it turn brown?

One of the newest pieces- this one has some stenciled raindrops and a watercolor and pen drawing done on rice paper.

Ummm..  It's been a while since my last post.. I have been involved in another creative process and busy with that still.  More on that later.
In the painting above, I have embedded and azalea flower in clear wax.  Hopefully it is completely sealed from oxygen and won't turn brown.  We will see!

Fire and Owl

I have added a blue sky to the fire painting seen in previous posts.  I am now working on integrating the blue with the fire, through line.  Also the owl obsession continues.  

coming along slowly




Here are some details from the piece with the working title- is 8 enough?
above is the door below is a bird I drew on rice paper, cut out and added in.
Here is one of the faces that is looking slightly better than the others.  The faces are really taking the longest amount of time because they are being done, scrapped and redone at least twice a day.  Working the facial details in wax is a lot more difficult than in oils.  It's the challenge I have set for myself in this piece, with 8 people and all.  The look of the people rendered in wax is dramatically different from the smooth and subtle oil painting renderings, which gives them a rougher look, that I am learning to enjoy.

Inspiration/ References

I found this great little book of birds published in the 60s.  I love the illustrations and also recognized some of the birds from my backyard.  I used it for references .  
I drew these chickadees on rice paper, which I used clear wax to fuse it to my painting.  The clear wax also turns the paper kind of invisible so the only thing that shows in the painting are just the pen lines that I drew.  

Everyone knows I have a thing for owls.  This is a burrowing owl.  Although I still  haven't seen one in person, I have watched some great footage on Youtube.  

These birds all appear in my newest painting introduced in my last post- Incarnations.





pouring hot wax

I start with a wood panel and use tape around the edges, to keep the wax from spilling off the edge.  
Using a potholder to pick up the edge of the wax container, I pour the wax on the panel.
It takes almost no time to cool and harden, so I work quickly pouring colors while the others are still hot, so they can mix.




After the last pour, I wait at least 20 minutes before taking the tape off the edges.  You can tell a lot of wax was built up during this process.  

She gets a tree and birds.

Here I have added a tree and birds to this little piece.  This photo was taken before I fused the layer of wax.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but the wax has a different texture before it's fused, more brushstrokes and a bit rougher.
Here I am fusing the painting with a heat gun.  It is necessary to fuse each layer after painting.  Fusing re-melts the layer just painted along with all the other layers, so as it cools and solidifies, the wax becomes one body, adhering the layer.  
Here is the painting after it was fused.  It is much smoother and glossier.

Adding fabric to "8 people"

The next step was to turn it into a house.  I plan to put some more clear layers on it next and add some lines outlining more windows and a door.
Here it is with a few coats of wax on it. 
To attach the fabric I painted it on with clear encaustic wax medium.  
I placed this antique cross stitch on the painting where I wanted to put it.  I decided to use the sun as the top window of the house.

New Painting

Here is my newest painting- The Owls are Watching.  I wanted to try doing several clear layers with different designs overlapping.  The end result was a glassy look and a depth behind it.  
Each large owl has a smaller "piggyback" owl.