Everything is new under the sun

Yay! I finished my triptych, again. This time I will hang the three panels about an inch away from each other, kind of the spacing in this photo. This one will go in my Peace College show, starting Feb. 21 with the artist reception Sunday March 20 2-4pm. First day of Spring! After re-doing this piece, it was tempting to go back into more of my work, there are endless possibilities for each painting. But now I am enjoying starting some newer work.....
Dragonfly stencil and a hand. This one is just about finished, I'm sure I will put final touches on it. I had remembered a drawing of a hand, maybe from an Indian incense box, and wanted to paint it with this lady. She's bringing me good fortune.
Here is a brand newbie. I did the background colors with oils, to make a smoother color transition. I wanted to do one with overlapping line drawings. Also I am doing more paintings with people in them now.
A detail of the above painting. The encaustic linework actually hovers above the painting encased in a layer of clear wax. That's how it's able to cast it's own little shadow...
The sea at night. I haven't seen it lately but in dreams. I do miss living near the ocean.
Here is another painting I started out in oils, to have a smoother color transition from light to darker. Inner peace.
This one has been through a lot of changes. I sometimes find the smaller pieces even harder to make than the big ones. You can see through the wax to almost all the layers here, so you get an idea of the process just looking at the painting's surface.
And another one that has been painted and scraped back over and over again. Under all the wax is a piece of vintage fabric.

Looking through a glass onion

A few glazes later. I am trying to keep this one really loose.
Two new ones. They're probably 80% done. Although, it's hard to know. I'm not sure what's next for these....
These are details from my triptych that I am re-doing. Birds are partly made of vintage fabric.
This is a strange cat lady. She just appeared there, she's not fully realized yet but she does have some big hair.
This is the top corner of the 3rd panel of the triptych. Like a little kid, I want to put the sun right in the top corner!

Oil glazes and more



I have been doing a lot of glazing with oils, something I haven't done in a while. The way it works is the light passes through several thin layers of oil color to the white canvas or panel, bounces back to the eye to create lush layered colors. The top painting is just in it's first phases, it's an oil on canvas. The ones under it are on panel. I am just thinking of them as backdrops right now. I'm now sure what the subjects will be for these paintings, I'm not sure if I will continue them in oils or switch to encaustic.
One thing I love about winter are gorgeous tree skeletons. This one reaches out to me.
This is an old friend that I am "re imagining". I thought it could use a new sky. We'll see what happens.

Come take my Encaustics Class!

These images are all student work being done in my last encaustics class at the Pullen Arts Center. The class ended up being a lot of fun- I think everyone did very well, especially since most of them were trying encaustic for the first time. It can be tricky to learn, but it's very fun! There are so many possibilities with mixed media.
The way I like to structure the class is to teach a new technique at the beginning and do a demo. Then I turn everyone loose to try it out. I encourage experimentation! I always bring a few of the things I am working on to give examples of what I am talking about, too.
We use stencils, incising, and collage among other things to bring our paintings together. Encaustic can be painted on very opaque, or translucent. It can be scratched and scraped. The final piece usually has lots of layers, and the wax gives it a very unique look and texture.
Everyone approaches this medium differently, and it's especially fun for me to see the students adapting the medium for their own purposes!
The colors of the encaustic paint are especially vibrant, and will never fade or yellow with time because the beeswax acts as a preservative.
All kinds of papers and fabrics can be collaged into the wax, which also preserves paper.
The linework technique is especially fun and challenging. It is done by incising into the wax.

The next class starts up on Feb. 2nd at 7pm. You can read more about it on the city website.

The Biggie

Here is the painting I have been working on. I have enjoyed painting and losing track of time with this painting- a phenomenon that doesn't happen with every piece. Now, I am going to use my tiny brush to add more detail to the plants and to everything. Maybe some glazes, too.

Soliloquy

Here is the painting I have been devoting massive amounts of time to as of late. The house on the left is a dog house, on the right is a cat house. I painted this one going from left to right. The house in the middle isn't fully realized yet, neither a cat or a dog house. I'm not sure what it's theme will be or if it will have one. Just imagine this painting with much brighter colors, this photo is a little dim. It's probably 90% done now. I am at the fun part where I put in tiny details with a tiny brush. Really, it's fun.

Arches and cones

Here are some rice paper paintings, all ready to be sealed into an encaustic painting. I love how porous this paper is, letting the wax fully permeate, actually changing color to slightly darker, as if it were still wet.
A church on a street that I love. This church has a perfect arched window.
An oil painting I have started. I'm painting the background first. I originally envisioned a cityscape for this canvas. Now I'm thinking a meadow. We'll see.

Supernatural

Here are the two latest. I finished both of these paintings this past week, both have lingered in the studio, languished in the studio, for months. Each one presented certain compositional and conceptual challenges. The painting above presented more of a conceptual challenge. I was pretty much done with it but I felt like it was boring, or missing something. I was painting on it one day, not really thinking about it too hard, and adding in horses and owls and other animals in the buildings. All of a sudden it seemed to relate exactly to some things I am going through in my life. All of a sudden it took on a very personal autobiographical nature.
The painting below started out as a gouache painting on paper. Never satisfied with it, I cut it in half angularly and put each half on either side of a wooden panel, to start another diptych. the compositional problem was how to fill in the space in the middle. After several incarnations, I ended up painting trees that created a portal into another dimension.

Possibilities

Snippets of my newest work, just a few layers of color and collage down right now. Some of the subject matter is coming together just now. I have been trying to keep these open as long as possible, keeping them abstract until I was sure of just the right thing to paint. The shapes and colors of the abstract collages I was working on suggested this subject matter.





Finished Painting

Best Roots

Here are the best roots in Raleigh. They belong to the Japanese Crepe Myrtle in the JC Raulston Arboretum.

Here are 4 beginnings. 3 are just collages of painted rice paper and wax. The other is rice paper and some wax painting too.
A drawing of a deer on a panel that I plan to start painting on soon.
Brand new works. Probably finished. We'll see.

It was a pretty productive day at the studio.

Little New ones

This is my new series of small animal paintings. All done with wax. Some include fabric as well, and others have some rice paper paintings embedded in the wax. They are in various stages of completion now. I am dying to get into doing the linework in these. Scrape scrape scrape!!

Studio adventures

I always park pretty far away from my studio in order to avoid parking meters, time limits, and paying to park. (No, I won't reveal my secret downtown parking spot). Anyway, this morning I walked a little out of my way, just to see this little hill that I love so much. It kind of reminds me of being out in the country. But it's right downtown.




Here are some paintings that are just about done now. All oil on canvas.
This is the start of a new diptych. It is a gouache painting on paper, cut and glued to two panels.
A little farther along, there are some rice paper birds flying and a building beginning to emerge in the center.
Here is my rice paper stash tied together with scrap studio fabric. And a vase made by Keith and Gaines Bailey.

A whilrlwind

These paintings have almost painted themselves these last few days. These bright greens and blues, very optimistic colors, have taken over my pallet. The titles are Sing a song, Crossing our tails, Bird and seahorse, and I forget what I called the green bird. Look for them on my website by the end of the week. I will have the title then.

A fresh start

There's nothing like starting a painting. It's all possibility. The more you add the more committed you become. For these paintings I started painted some rice paper with gouache and watercolor, then drew on it with pen and cut the shapes out. I used clear encaustic to fuse them to the panel's surface. Now the fun begins!

Family Fun Day!!



































Today was family fun day at Artspace. Here I am doing an encaustic demo out in front of our studio. I actually got a lot done on my painting, and it turns out, people like to watch an encaustic painting in the making. Also here is work from all three classes I taught this summer at Artspace. It was so great to see the kids' work displayed. I was lucky to get to work with so many talented kids. And it was great to get to see some of them again that came out for the party!

Summer's end















Here's an encaustic painting that I'm working on and an oil as well. Just yesterday I really brightened up the duck painting. It was pretty dark. I wanted a happy painting with a black sky, but it worked better with a lighter color sky. It's almost done now. The radiant eye bird is coming along. I will probably add more colors to the starburst pattern. I want a rainbow effect. I will probably title this one "Refraction of Light" or something. Oh, and my beautiful typewriter from South Africa. Just because.

More space for paintings

































I have a lot of paintings now in the studio, and thanks to some re-arranging, plenty of space to hang them all! At the studio (and at home) I never take for granted the simple act of re-arranging and de-cluttering to create a fresh atmosphere and new energy. This re-energized space is probably going to inspire yet more paintings.

Oil paintings- coming right along
















Why is it that some paintings you toil over endlessly, working and reworking to no avail, never satisfied? Well that hasn't been the case with this new body of work. Maybe since it's been a while since I have devoted myself to oils, or maybe I'm just lucky right now, but these paintings have come so easily. It's the difference between swimming against the current and floating along in an inner tube down the Itchetucknee. One wears you out and mentally drains you, while the other you don't even notice you are going anywhere.

Exercising brain





























It's been a busy day in the studio. I am doing more oils and have also returned to painting the figure. People reading books, walking dogs or just being still. Also I am making an encaustic painting simultaneously, a castle of the mind. I have really enjoyed going back and forth between using oils and encaustics, they are so different, kind of like opposites. It's an exercise for my brain.