My Land/Water/Sky Encaustic series at "Art=Gift" Hygienic Holiday show

"Wading Together at Dusk"

Encaustic on panel

6" H x 8" W

Yesterday I dropped off  several of my encaustic (hot wax and oil pigment) landscapes, including the one above, at the Hygienic Gallery in New London, CT for their annual "Art = Gift" holiday show. I love to use this medium as a bridge between painting and relief sculpture, creating layers and rich textural effects. Encaustic also lends itself very well to the abstracted quality I strive for in this series.

Every year this exhibit features an eclectic mix of smaller, reasonably-priced works perfect for gift giving.  (And yes, giving to yourself counts as a "gift".)  

The show runs from November 24th through December 23rd. Check out the Hygienic's website or call for gallery hours and more info: 860-443-8001. 860  • 443 • 8001 860 • 443 • 8001 

Land, Sky, Water Series

"Sunset Silence"

6" x 8" encaustic on panel

This is the latest in a series of encaustic paintings I call Land/Sky/Water; the six paintings that make up the series are currently on exhibit at the Hygienic Art Gallery, part of the art = gift show.  (We went to the opening tonight and saw some excellent paintings, etchings, prints and photographs, plus work by Williams High School students in the basement gallery.) All works in the series are available for sale; the show runs until December 23rd.

I posted another painting from the series previously here on the blog, and I'll be posting photos of the others in the coming days.

encaustic painting on cigar box

This painting is a mixture of an old photo and wax pigment fused, my father and myself with part of a plow in the picture.  The horse is not in the old photo unfortunately. The red pigment symbolizes the red clay of South Carolina that my father  worked so hard.  One could say this painting is an  exploration and reclamation of my past history of childhood, (finding the positive aspects).  

Winter Heat

Winter Heat
11"x 11 " encaustic on panel

This is one of several encaustic ( hot wax + pigment) paintings I have recently started.  Abstracted landscapes of winter,  finding some bright color in what feels like grey monochromatic winters.  Ususally the most colorful part of my day is sunset.  Often the only time during the day I get to see the sky is on my drive to and from work.  Luckily for me, that means being able to enjoy the vivid sunrises and sunsets.

New Year, Clean Studio Air

 Finally, got it together this new year to order and install an exhaust fan for my studio.  The 3 speed fan is from TekSupply and it goes from 555 cfm ( cubic feet per minute) to a high of 1,115 cfm.  So far the fan is working well and I hope it last for a good while.  Also, I think it will work as an all house fan to cool my studio/apt. come summer.  On low it takes most of the fumes out from heating wax for encaustic painting or any other artwork smells and if not, medium takes the fumes out for sure.  When I turn the fan on, the shutters open to take air outside and I usually put on a fan or window behind me to blow air past my face.  But the exhaust fan works so well that it sucks most everything out without the other fan on.  And it passes the incense test also.  I really should have got this fan sooner but I am glad I took the plunge to buy it.  Framing the fan in the hole and bolting it in was a little work but things went fairly smooth.  And I truly recommend a good exhaust fan to take care of one's lungs whether painting in any medium especially encaustics.  

Other Artists/ Encaustic and Mixed Media Painting

While googling about small torches for encaustic painting I ran across this website:  Rebecca Shapiro Art.    I really enjoyed the luminosity and soft depth of her encaustic paintings.
And thank you Rebecca for your article about your encaustic painting techniques and creating a green studio which I found very helpful.  I am trying to improve on my studio air quality and safe disposal of materials etc and I would love feedback from you or other artists how and what they are doing to achieve this.
Also, check out , on Rebecca's website,  links to artists like:   Kim Edwards Keast , a multi media artists which appeals to my three dimensional side with no holds barred with whatever material works, she uses.   Please check out these artists and enjoy.   Happy peaceful holidays.

Sun Ablaze (IMAGO Holiday Gallery Exhibit

6" x 8" encaustic on panel

Local inspiration with some local color interpretation.  This is one of the four encaustic paintings of mine that will be part of the Holiday Invitational Exhibit you can see at the IMAGO Gallery in Warren RI.   The reception is December 3rd,  Friday 7-5pm.  For info go to their Facbook link:    IMAGO GALLERY     A beautiful gallery with some great artists, and a fun little town.

Art Studio Ventilation for Encaustic Painting-Tips from R & F Paints

I finally got back to experimenting with encaustic painting.  Knowing that I needed to improve my ventilation for safety, I started reading and found a good article from R & F Paints that describes a simple way to ventilate your studio and different kinds of ventilation.    For their full article on studio ventilation go to their link: R & F Encaustic Technical Sheets  Then click on "Venting Your Studio for Encaustics" which will take you to a pdf file.

Their recommendation for placement of two fans is the one I am starting with now.  When winter comes, I may need to buy an exhaust fan with louvers to keep cold air out of my studio when I am not using the fan.  But for now I will see how using a pair of  simple box fans will work.  The first fan is in the window six inches above my electric palette.  On the other side of the room I placed a fan on a table to blow air over the palette which will blow the fumes into the exhaust fan and out the window.  This system should also be an improvement in my studio ventilation when just working with oils and not heated wax.