New Encaustic Paintings

Strange and ironic, but with all those nice panels I've been building, I decided to work first on six little 6"x6" panels that I had bought some time ago and had kicking around the studio (literally). I was kind of pressed for time with all the woodworking I had to do but desperate to melt some wax and paint. I thought I could work up the little panels pretty quickly. And what do you know, I did!

Island Dreams 1, encaustic and beads on panel, 6"x6"

I've never worked this small but it was fun. I kept my palette to the blues and greens of the last work I did (plus black and white) because those paints were on the griddle and incorporated some beads that Lynette gave me when she cleaned out her studio. Here are some images of the little guys. I'm not saying that this is their final version, but for a first pass, I'm pleased. They reminded me of Pacific islands when I painted them, so I named them Island Dreams.

Island Dreams 2, encaustic and beads on panel, 6" x 6"

I'll just show you three for now.

Island Dreams 3, encaustic and beads on panel, 6" x 6"

Encaustic News

(1) On the subject of encaustic, I heard today from Gwen Plunkett, who writes the Ancient Vessel blog and is a member of Texas Wax. I know her from the encaustic conference. She also has another blog - Bits and Pieces - where she has posted a lot of detailed information about making encaustic medium, making and/or buying panels and referrals to books about painting with encaustic. She also linked to my post(s) about building panels and using power tools.

(2) Approaching soon: the deadline for Beauty and Its Opposites, the conference show to be juried by Nick Carpasso, senior curator at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA. CDs of images have to be received in Beverly, MA by April 1st. You can download the prospectus and entry form on the conference blog.

(3) Also approaching are spring shows by New England Wax: Heat Stroke at the Saco Museum in Saco, ME (April 3 to May 30 - juried by Katherine French, Director of the Danforth Museum) and Ancient Medium, N.E.W. Terrain at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA (May 17 to September 6 - juried by Craig Bloodgood, Contemporary Curator at the museum). Note that the Duxbury show will be up during the encaustic conference and we may try to arrange a daytrip to the museum.

(4) And 'tis the season for submitting proposals to various venues for shows in 2010.

Such a lot for artists to do. However do we manage?