Mixed media with encaustic, Song at Twilight

"Song at Twilight" - mixed media collage with encaustic (old letter, music, chocolate paper, fabric, hot wax, 30x25cm)

Letter to his Mother - Encaustic Collage

Letter to his mother (35x40cm)
Encaustic collage (coloured paper, stencil,fabric,original letter)

My father wrote many letters to his family back in Second World War Germany when he, at the age of 17, became a prisoner of war in 1945. He was quite lucky though, staying with a farmer's family on a small island in then Yougoslavia, off the coast from Dubrovnik. They really treated him like a son, and they had a strong relationship with each other for many years after his release in 1949.
His letters again show his strong feelings of responsibility for his family left in the Sudetenland (today's Czechoslovakia). They had to flee in 1944 to Western Germany, having lost everything and being forced to build up a new life from scratch, like millions of others.

To me, being born after the war and never have lived in wartimes, this all is hardly imaginable. There must be a psychological mechanism in us forcing us to start anew instead of falling into depression. Apparently there are hardly any people suffering from depression during wartimes. Every energy seems to go into surviving.

Encaustic Collage - "We set out together"

Encaustic Collage  "We set out together" (25x20cm)
printed paper, gold chocolate paper, leaf, text, pigmented wax

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 painting & collage - Rondo

Rondo - mixed media on board (100cm x 70cm)

With layers of cloths and laces, old fabrics and acrylics, this result reminds me very much of Spain, one of my favourite countries where I'll soon go to spend some time. Spain is such a vibrant result of a history of different cultures - the Phoenicians and Greeks, Moorish, Jews and Gypsies populations - all left their traces in today's people and culture.

Rondo is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways. In rondo form, a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") alternates with one or more contrasting themes.

Ronda is a city in Spanish province of Málaga. It retains much of its historic charm, particularly its old town. It is famous worldwide for its dramatic escarpments and views, and for the deep El Tajo gorge that carries the rio Guadalevín through its centre. Visitors make a beeline for the 18th century Puente Nuevo 'new' bridge, which straddles the 100m chasm below, for its unparalleled views out over the Serranía de Ronda mountains.

Ronda, Andalucia, Province of Malaga, Spain

The Spanish countryside beyond the built up coastal stretches is equally fascinating, dramatic and beautiful.
Good news that Catalonia has recently banned the horrible bull fighting - hopefully the other communities will follow soon!

Mixed Media painting - Ceremonial dress 1

mixed media painting "Ceremonial dress 1" (100cm x 70cm, acrylics, paper on canvas)

It is not always clear to me where my inspirations come from. In this case the idea of kimono patterns were certainly involved, and also a fascination with ceremonies in general (I was brought up as a catholic), the special state of mind involved with ceremonies and a wonderful a-capella concert with candlelight in our medieval church last weekend.

Mixed Media painting - Autumn, already

Cold and windy days, more rain than sunshine - people heretake it stoically, "Well what do you expect - this is the English summer!"
Fields have been harvested already, and the lawn is full of leaves - looks like autumn has arrived.

"Autumn, already" (mixed media, 100cm x 70cm)

unhappy marriage

My paternal grandmother got married at the age of 16 because she was pregnant. Her new husband was 19 and, as it turned out, a womanizer. He died young, leaving his young widow with 2 young kids, and she never married again.

Later in life she became quite a bitter tyrant, probably feeling deceived by life. My mom, my brothers and me were scared by her because she could get horrible tempers. A shame - because in fact she had lots of wonderful capabilities like painting, sewing and cooking.

Attic Collage

A good friend gave me recently a whole load of old photos and documents she found when emptying house and attic of her mother's lover. I never met him, but from what she told me he seems to have been quite a womanizer, well travelled and educated (he was a GP), and when he died he was in his late nineties. This collage is based on some of the treasures she gave me.

Eastern Roots

My mother's family came from today's Poland, belonging to a German minority living in a part of the country called Silesia. During the 2nd World War, she and her family had to emigrate to Western Germany, and that's where she met my dad.
This mixed media work is about her family after her dad had died.  She always told me that her ancestors came from Mongolia - as in 1240 the battle of Liegnitz  (close to her birth town) with Attila the Hun had taken place, and her whole family had quite a lot of Asian features, including strong black hair, high cheekbones and very dark, beautiful eyes.

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Material: manila envelope, acrylics, stamp, paper, inks, oil crayon