untitled watercolor 16

Another reductive watercolor abstraction from my ongoing series.

untitled watercolor 15

Watercolor painting at its most reductive.

untitled watercolor 14

New work from the ongoing watercolor series.

With one particular painting, I was briefly tempted to tape the sides for precisely straight lines.  I decided against it; that type of precision is too hard edged for my purposes.

untitled watercolor 13

New work from my ongoing reductive watercolor series.  All are 6 x 6 inches on Arches cold press paper. Encaustic paintings forthcoming.

untitled watercolor 12

Slight blurring of edges and watermarks sometimes occur, regardless of how long I wait to apply subsequent layers.

The culprit?  Either humidity or the paint property itself as certain colors have a tendency to stain or bleed.  I painted #12 on a muggy day, so the probable cause is humidity.  Nevertheless, I am at peace with the painting.

encountering encaustics workshop - part 2

 

 

Encountering Encaustics workshop at Art Center of Corpus Christi, taught by artist and author Michelle Belto - Two of my experimental paintings shown here, each in three stages.  Photos taken with iPhone.

First painting - I smeared a bit of magenta oil stick, drew with dry pastel and alcohol-based permanent marker, and embedded black lines of paint.  Finally I enhanced areas by rubbing embossing powder onto the surface with my fingers; it is hard to see the silvery sheen in this photograph but it is there.

Second painting - I made an under painting, building upon multiple layers for some height.  Next I applied a layer of white, then yellow.  After that, I scraped back to reveal the colors underneath.  Scraping takes plenty of "elbow grease", I remembered.  Later, I used red carbon paper to add a few swirls. 

I plan to utilize some of these techniques and materials for future encaustic work.  So please stay tuned.

encountering encaustics workshop - part 1

Earlier this month, I attended a two-day workshop taught by artist and author Michelle Belto (above images).

Since 2010, I have been working in encaustic after teaching myself via online research and books.  However, I needed to expand my knowledge of the medium, feeling a desire to return to basics in order to move forward.

Michelle's workshop was very informative and well organized.  She demonstrated ways to use materials I had not tried in my studio practice including transfers, collage, embossing powder, book foil and stencils; and techniques such as imbedding, stamping, drawing and more.  (All paintings here are by Michelle.)

In addition, I discovered an easier, more efficient way to store and ship encaustic paintings using Michelle's method (above photos).

I also felt brave enough to try the propane torch for faster fusing and a glass-like surface.  I won't be retiring my Wagner heat gun but may opt for a torch eventually.

I'll post some paintings I did at the workshop in Part 2, up next.

Michelle Belto's show "Uncommon Elements" is currently on exhibit at Art Center of Corpus Christi.