Creating Texture-Encaustic

Encaustic paint is great for creating texture -that was one of the reasons I was first drawn to it. As it is a solid paint that becomes liquid by heating, temperature is the key. At cooler temperatures the paint will have a paste like consistency. By layering this thicker paint, a technique called accretion*, various textures can be created. Working subtractively on a painting with a warm surface can also create textures that would be recessed instead of raised. Adding collage elements or casting shapes with impasto medium are other choices for adding texture. Several detail images from my paintings illustrate different textures. In one the actual honey comb was incorporated into the painting's surface.

*check out Martin Kline's early work for examples of this technique

The Blank Canvas

 It stares back at us, waiting for that first brush, palette knife, drip or splash of paint. Especially if you are new to painting, the process of beginning a painting can be challenging. In 1993 Anna Audette wrote The Blank Canvas-Inviting the Muse. Even though almost 30 years old this book (available on Amazon) offers many straightforward and practical suggestions for artists. Audette worked in many different types of 2-D media and taught college students for many years so she knew what she was writing about.

Sometimes its a Positive to be Negative

 Here the word negative refers to the process in painting where instead of adding more paint to the surface you remove=subtract. When working with encaustic paint this can be an important part of the process that many artists neglect to use. One can remove many layers at a time (don't like what you did, wrong color, want to start over) by warming the surface and using a variety of blades and scrapers. But we also have a fine degree of control over this process just by having a cooler surface temperature. The surface being harder, very thin layers of paint can be removed.

The original border of this painting was scraped off, tape was applied to protect the inner layer and a new border was painted. It still needs to be lightly scraped to even out the surface and let more of the base color show through. 

Like any other technique this one also takes practice. You might be surprised with what you unearth!

Let's Fix Art History

 There's a T-shirt* printed with the question "can you name 5 women artists?". Can you? Janet Sobel had no MFA, was a mom and housewife-we're talking the 1940's, 50's here-and created so called "drip" paintings before Jackson Pollack. Peggy Guggenheim gave her a solo show in 1946 and one of the viewers was no other than Jackson Pollack. No real surprise but the news media back then referred  to her first as a grandmother then as an artist. She also had a low key method of dripping paint onto a canvas while laying on the floor. Pollack, on the other hand, was a dramatic painter who also fit better with the public's view of a painter. She was mostly forgotten. None of this is really news but lets try to give credit and recognition where it is due.

Here is a detail from one of my favorite of Sobel's paintings titled Milky Way. Owned by MOMA but currently not on view.

*National Museum of Women in the Arts gift shop    

What to See

 Currently on exhibit in Boston is an installation by artist Firelei Baez at ICA Watershed through September 6. I have not been yet but it looks amazing with its elements of painting, sculpture, history and contemporary concerns. One walks under a blue tarp with shapes cut out that appear as stars or fish. There is a huge painting and structures that are textured with what look like barnacles. During these difficult times I do hope many people get a chance to see this exhibition in person. 

One Way or Another

 I'm often asked how to tell when a painting is finished. Several answers come to mind including intuition, boredom and/or when you can't think of a way to improve the work. When you think that you are done it often helps to  not look at the painting for a period of time- giving yourself "fresh eyes"- that will enable you to see if more needs to be done.

    But perhaps more importantly- how do you begin a new painting? Here again there is no one best answer. Hopefully inspiration strikes. If one is working on a series one painting will lead to the next. Some artists will consult their own sketchbooks or begin sketching an idea. Doing a small study or just applying a colored base layer to your surface can help. My preferred method is to work on several paintings at a time. That way, I can put the painting that might be done aside while I continue working on the other one.

    One way or another the most important part of this is just to start painting.

Studio + Safety

 Cezanne didn't let people visit his studio. Francis Bacon was infamous for the state of his studio that looked like a tornado had visited. My studio (above) leans more towards Cezanne's but besides making it easier to find things it is also safer. Whether  you are fortunate to have a dedicated studio or a room, basement, etc. safety should be considered. Of course one should have ventilation but also a fire extinguisher and high on my list is a metal garbage can with a tight lid. These have come down in price so that should not be an excuse. An artist friend of mine lost his studio to a fire-if he had that type of garbage can it might not have happened. Also you can see in the background my heat gun has a holder so the hot tip stays safe and my heated palette is on a metal table. When working with oils or acrylics I wear gloves and no food in the studio!

 Somehow, to my knowledge, Bacon avoided a fire even though he had oily newspapers knee high! Please stay safe.