encaustics & mixed media , Home / Your Voice

"Your Voice" - encaustics with mixed media on paper & board (30cm x 25cm)

"Home" - encaustics with mixed media on paper & board (45cm x 25cm)

I am getting more into the "swing" of this new medium.
The good thing for me is that the encaustic technique is very open to experimenting. You can always re-heat and scrape off or, if paper, take it off.
The difficult thing is, as with painted papers, to avoid messing up their colours when covering them with hot wax, and when fusing them with a very hot torch.
And, most importantly, how to avoid covering your hands (and clothes...) with hot wax? You have sometimes to react so quickly - and if there's no tool at hand, I just hold things down with my fingers...

mixed media - "Melisande in the wood"

"Melisande in the wood" - mixed media (70cm x 55cm)

The painting itself is actually not quite as colourful as in this photograph. I find it really difficult to take photos of my artwork, especially if the surface is partly shiny, partly "muted".
Inspiration for this piece comes from tribal art, shaman rites, and here again colours and textures I sucked in during my holiday in Spain are very present. I can't deny it - I love colours! Although I'll try to get them a bit more muted. 

We live and experience so much through our visual sense.  What would I do without it? Seeing colours, compositions, textures and artworks I like opens my heart and gives me so much joy. How could I ever live without that?

Encaustic - great fun!

Encaustic painting - "Melisande, alone" (paper, wax crayon, seeds & hot wax on board; 25cm x 25cm)

Encaustic painting - "In the Woods" (paper, wax crayon, seeds & hot wax on board; 25cm x 25cm)

Finally I've set up a corner in my studio for encaustics.
My basic knowledge of this marvellous technique comes from a few good books as well as instructional videos featuring some inspiring encaustic artists (I'll give some titles & authors in my next post).
However I imagine it would be so much better taking part in a workshop, run by an experienced artist, with a few other passionate students. There seem to be no encaustic workshops on offer in the UK. Whereas in the US, it seems to be THE art technique to learn. And of course, I'm so envious about all the wonderful material for encaustics on offer in the US! I felt like a stone age explorer when I tried to gather some basic stuff like encaustic medium, wax or even a hot plate on ebay.
Anyway, I am quite proud now having produced some initial pieces without too many burn blisters on my hands.