Framed

I'll be busy today putting wires on these works - got them back from my friend and framer Teresa Cerda.  This series Visual Cues will be shown at Mica Gallery in Bakersville, NC from May through June.  Opening is scheduled for May 31st from 5-8 pm. 

Teresa Cerda

Below is one of Teresa's beautiful paintings.   

Collage

I add paint to some of the sections, white and brown, and begin adding collage elements.  I choose from a hoard of old papers and books (yes, I collect) - I look for papers that are soft surfaced, usually easiest found in older papers.  I am attracted to marks, the linear marks found on maps, handwritten ledgers and schematic drawings such as blueprints.  Collage papers are applied with the clear encaustic medium, which acts as an adherent because it is able to permeate the paper and become fused to the waxy surface.  

Paint, Fuse, Scrape

Here I painted over the previous texture a dark neutral blue.  After fusing, I'm able to scrape the boards, removing the excess blue and revealing a nice, irregular grid.  This will serve as my base, I'll start building larger elements to the composition next.  I will use geometric shapes and found papers - some of those papers will be the architectural plans for the home in Linville.  

Encaustic paint consists of the usual pigments found in all paint, dissolved in beeswax with a significant quantity of damar resin.  Melted paint can be brushed or poured - I use brushes in almost all cases.  The damar resin is an important ingredient, as it lends a hardening element which cures over time.  Encaustic paintings are very stable in most environments because of this - I have had encaustic works on my own mantel this winter with gas logs burning below with no problems.  

The Fayum mummy portraits, discovered in the 1960's in Egypt are true examples of the lasting qualities of encaustic paintings.  This group of portraits dates to Coptic Egypt, 100-300 A. D. 

           

Grid

A grid is a wonderful compositional device, and I use it here.  Using semi-opaque light neutral encaustic, I painted over a nice piece of landscape screening.  When I pulled the screen off, there was the texture. Encaustic is so malleable!  I can add paint, and take away - you'll see.  

An Unexpected Development

What's the unexpected development?  Writing a blog!  I'm not a writer, but I do see a benefit to putting down the process of my work in the studio. I am primarily a painter and encaustic is my usual choice of media, frequently with additional media mixed in.  I also make work with metal; I'll share some of that here also.  My art making practice is  intuitive - I start with a general idea, however I allow the work itself to speak to me, leading me down new paths.  This blog is a great example of a new path I felt I needed to follow.  Let's see where it goes.

 I'm working on a commissioned triptych and taking process shots as the piece develops.  The work is encaustic mixed media and the three panels each measure 30 x 48 inches. This work will hang on a beautiful, tall stone fireplace in a home near Grandfather Mountain.  The hardest part of most projects is getting started sometimes - once I begin the piece seems to roll forward - guiding me. First job; paint the edges with oil paint, and lay down several layers of fused encaustic to form a bed.