happy new year, new workshops

wishing you all more time to create!


upcoming workshops to be held at silvermine arts center, new canaan, ct

introduction to encaustic painting-1 day,  january 25 and march 30
6 week class, monday afternoons starting on february 10
encaustic painting with collage-1 day, march 16
and new this session- encaustic studio-1 day, april 7

details at www.silvermineart.org

How things have changed-or have they?

this is the 100 year anniversary of the controversial Armory Show and you can get a look at what it was like currently at the N.Y. Historical Society. there were just as many Americans as Europeans exhibiting but it was the European artists who woke up the audience.  during 1913 women were marching in the streets for the right to vote and contraceptive freedom, were there even any women in this show? the best selling artist was Odilon Redon-remember him? critics laughed and one went so far as to call the show evidence of  "the total destruction of the art of painting". so here we are 100 years later and some of the same issues remain. bet you know a lot of painters, though.

Show at Watershed Gallery

i am very pleased to have 10 paintings in certifiably organic at the watershed gallery in ridgefield, ct. it is a great looking show that also includes nancy woodward and pamela marks. the show is up through november 10th so i hope you get a chance to stop by. the gallery is closed on mondays but open every other afternoon. www.watershedgallery.com

Honey bees

Have you thought about where your paint comes from lately? It takes 160,000 bees traveling 150,000 miles to collect enough pollen to produce 60 ponds of honey which translates into one pound of beeswax! But honey bees are in grave danger-2012 was a very bad year for them. Of course, paint concerns are minor when we compare that to the pollination of our food crops. So what is happening? Perhaps it is the new insecticide containing nicotine since the rise in its use mirrors the rise in the collapse of bee colonies.
There are no replacements for honey bees-something we should all think about and even speak up about. More to come.

Fall Workshops, new Work

my fall workshops at silvermine school of art-www.silvermineart.org

intro to encaustic painting-10/1 and 11/13, 10:00-3:00

encaustic transfers with photographs-10/15, 10:00-3:00

6 week class starting 10/5, 7:00-10:00 pm

encaustic weekend-12/3 & 4, 10:00-3:00

hope to see you there

new painting-corona-36" x 36" encaustic on panel and view as a triptych

Not Just for Kids

i thought it was worth a try-the Crayola Crayon Maker. designed for children to re-melt their left over crayon pieces into new crayons with custom colors- why not try it with encaustic paints and make encaustic crayons. following directions but using scraps of encaustic paint the Crayon Maker did melt the encaustics, then they are poured into 4 small crayon molds-let cool and there you go. i have yet to try adding any powdered pigments to the mix but that is next. there is probably a better method but the Crayon Maker only uses a 60 watt candelabra bulb for heat so it shouldn't use much electricity. if you wonder why i might want encaustic crayons just think encaustic monotypes. and remember, if you too try this at home, don't forget about ventilation.

Up coming workshops 2011

happy new year everyone. 2011 is the year of the rabbit-a quiet year when gentle persuasion is better than harsh force so i'll just say it would be great to see you at a workshop where everyone can work at their own pace with no pressure to create the masterpiece. although i have found that during my many years of teaching that even artists new to a medium often want to do just that. so relax, but not too much since in the year of the rabbit we can become too complacent while putting off what we need to do.

these are my workshops at silvermine arts center in new canaan, ct (www.silverminearts.org)through april-i also am available for private workshops in my studio. wishing you all the best, keep waxing, nash

introduction to encaustic painting-2/5 and 4/23

encaustic with collage-3/19

encaustic for photographers-4/2 (the image above combines photography with encaustic paint)

weekend workshop-2/12 and 13

6 week class starts 2/16