How to explore encaustic

Have you ever wondered about encaustic paint? How does it work? What do I need? How do I use it?

My Cooled Palette

I'll have some answers this Saturday and Sunday, October 22 and 23, 2011, at Plaza Artist Materials here in Nashville from 12 to 3:00 each day. Plaza's address is : 633 Middleton Street, located on the corner of 7th Avenue South and Middleton Street one block off of Lafayette Street. 


I'll be demonstrating the handmade paint produced by R and F Paints, which is my favorite brand. These encaustics are high quality, color dense, and silky. Their website is a treasure trove of information.

Encaustic work can be subtle:

Snuffed

© 2006 Kathryn Dettwiller

Encaustic, matches, plaster on wood

13 X 13""


Or encaustic can be glorious in color:

Hot Window

© 2007 Kathryn Dettwiller

Encaustic monotype

12 X 9.25""



Visit their website for resources, Q and A, workshops, and more.
and visit my page, The Buzz About Encaustic.


Drop in on Saturday or Sunday at 633 Middleton Street (Plaza Art Materials) to try it in person!

Paint, Paint, and More Paint

In an earlier post I remarked that I was ready to paint again with vigorous, big strokes. That meant OIL PAINT.
I haven't used oils in years.

When I began using encaustics in 1996, I was smitten. I left my old medium, oils, for a new one. I loved encaustics then and I still do, but the limitations of the hot wax make it challenging to work in a larger scale. The wax hardens before I can make a long stroke of paint.

Then I unpacked my oils. Yikes! Absence did not make my nose grow fonder. The odor was so pungent that my allergies rebelled.

But, I reasoned, oil paint is compatible with encaustic paint.

So I squeezed out some oils, heated up the wax, and painted. The painting was awful. The surface of the painting was gobby, the design poor, and the smell of the oils made my head hurt! I'd been away too long, and now the odor was a problem. I put the painting away.

Still yearning to paint boldly, I remembered an old stand-by of mine---black and white tempera paint. Powdered tempera is a liberating medium since it is quick to dry, can be made thick enough to have some heft, and it's cheap.The flip side, though, is that it can be brittle when dry. The first "Brain-Drain" painting, Study #2, was crumbly and fragile when it dried.

©2011 Kathryn Dettwiller  Study # 3, Charcoal, Acrylic on Paper,

26 x 20"

Since I had acrylics on hand, I thought they could substitute for the tempera. Here I worked some black and white as well as colored acrylic into the charcoal base layer. The finished work is now mostly acrylic paint without the brittleness of tempera.

Christmas Colors

Christmas Colors ©1981 Kathryn Mathes   Silkscreen  23x19"

Let Me Count the Reasons...

First, a list of all the rational reasons that I use encaustic:

1. Color: The colors are vividly rich. The suspended pigment in the beeswax allows the brilliant colors to sparkle with energy
2. The colors can be opaque or transparent, and can be applied thinly (glazes) or thickly (impasto)
3. There can be total coverage of one color with another, with no bleeding through
4. Line elements can be as varied as you wish: thin, thick, scraggly or sleek
5. Infinite texture capabilities: Textures are easily created, literally and figuratively speaking. From silky smooth to rough, bumpy textures, from the illusion of texture to the real thing 
6. The surfaces of the work can be textured, smooth, poured, scraped, dipped or incised
7. Forms can be created 2-dimensionally or 3-dimensionally
8. Wax has an adhesive quality that is good for embedding, pasting, or collaging
9. It is quick to "set up" (that is, become a permanent, finished artwork)
10. Reworking possibilities are endless, since the wax is malleable with heat
11. Encaustic readily lends itself to image transfers
12. The layering that is inherent with encaustic gives a sense of space and time
13. Encaustic is one of the cleanest and least messy media for the artist
14. It is non-toxic when properly used
15. It has a sweet smell

Next, a few of the subjective reasons:

1. From the moment I began using wax, I felt an affinity to the medium 
2. I love the feel of the cooled paintings and the lingering beeswax scent
3. Paraphrasing from Reni Gower, curator of the show, The Divas and Iron Chefs of Encaustic, wax/encaustic work has a "seductive surface, luminous color and ethereal image layering"
4. Encaustic informs my work with the hazy, muted quality that is inherent in memory...necessarily out of focus, but nonetheless, genuine in its authenticity
5. Encaustic is a challenge to use. Too much heat, and the image is forever lost...like a fleeting idea that escapes into thin air.

Encaustic Revival

A Tray of Many Colors

Jasper Johns is credited with reviving the use of encaustic paint for contemporary artists. It is said that he wanted something that would help his paintings dry faster, and he remembered hearing about the wax paintings of ancient Greece. So, voila! the old becomes the new again!

After Johns' show at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1958, many other artists were mesmerized by encaustic's spell, including Brice Marden, Lynda Benglis, Nancy Graves, Kay Walkingstick and Arthur Dove. Today many contemporary artists use encaustic.

 I began using encaustic in 1996 when there was little information available about the medium. Trial and error is a great teacher! Today there is plenty of information both on the web and in print. One of the best information resources on the web is R & F Paints, who specialize in encaustic paint and pigment sticks.

When I am asked about my work and I reply that I work in encaustic, many people wonder what encaustic is.  If you click on the Buzz page above, you'll find some historical information.

The real question is why? Why use encaustic instead of oil paint or acrylics or any other paint? That's for the next post....

A Monumental Masterpiece

I know very little about weaving besides warp ( the vertical strands) and weft (the horizontal strands that rhyme with "left".) But on April 25th, I was invited to Martha Christian's studio to witness the cutting of her tapestry from her 80" loom. What a treat for all of us who gathered to be a part of the process. Her studio, dominated by the loom, is a spacious room over the garage in her home.

 Isn't this a HUGE loom?

After sampling the refreshments and chatting with the other guests, we listened to Martha speak a bit before beginning the cutting and tieing procedure to remove the tapestry from its birthing place.

Martha Christian is a tiny person. The photography makes her seem much larger than she actually is.

Here she is talking to us about the process. She holds the cartoon drawing of the finished work. The "cartoon" is the design of the work. 

A closeup of the loom with lots and lots of knots

 

Lots and lots of string  

That must be cut precisely and knotted

To free the tapestry from the loom

  

 

   

Then, it took several people to move and position the tapestry on the wall where we all could see it better. That "we" included Martha herself, since the weaver doesn't get to see more than a 6" swath as she weaves.

Martha with her creation

explaining the connections

And the completed work

The wools are wildly intense and saturate the senses. It is magnificent in color and scale,
don't you agree?



Last week Martha sent me this photo of the tapestry blocked out on the floor

with this note:

"Finally I finished sewing the slits. Now the tapestry is pinned to the rug pad and ready for steam pressing. Wish you were here to crawl around with me.  Martha"