"Storm"
12 x 12 x 1.5
Encaustic on wood panel

These colors are a departure from the bold reds and/or blues that I usually use.  Believe it or not, it took quite an effort to stay away from those brighter colors.

Tomorrow, a friend is coming to the house and we're going play with encaustics as well oil sticks and alcohol inks that she'll be bringing.  I already have the deck set up with different work stations and I'm looking forward to a productive day.  I plan to record some of the things we'll be doing, so check back.

3/31/14
This will be a busy week for art, but unfortunately very little painting.  I'll be spending a lot of time getting the van ready for the trip down to Savannah.  I had a wonderful time at last year's show.  I was right in front of the DJ and a non-stop weekend of listening, I was euphoric.  Here's one reason why:  Twistin' on River Street

This year I'll be taking my encaustics and I'm anxious to see how they're received.  They went over well at Michael's Fine Art Gallery, a local show in Dalton, GA.  Not the encaustics, of course, but I'll have many paintings less than $100.00, in hopes that they'll appeal to the revelers who didn't really come to buy art, but will see that as an affordable splurge.

Here's one that will be there:                   Clouding Up [$145]

14 x 14 x 1.5

Encaustic on wood panel

If you're interested in seeing what is involved in making this painting, take a look at yesterday's blog entry.

-Paul

03/30/14
Encaustic painting is my latest interest.  It's a very labor-intensive process and for me, everything is handmade.  A start with 6' or 8' 2x4s and 4'x8' sheets of birch plywood.  After everything is cut to size, I use glue and C clamps to assemble the various sized surfaces on which to paint.  Because I turn the 2x4s sideways, the panels look like a regular gallery-wrapped canvas.

The encaustic paint is made from melting 100% pure beeswax with damar resin (8:1 ratio).  When the combination is melted and mixed, I add oil pigment.  During the painting process I also use charcoal and dry pigment sprinkled onto the molten wax to enhance the highlights and give the look of texture..

Over the next few days I'll be posting additional examples of these works.

Creek [$145]

12x12x1.5

encaustic on wood