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.

Secrets of Life and Death

"Secrets of Life and Death 1" - encaustic collage including Leonardo da Vinci's "Fetus" (70x50cm)

Birth and Death - enigmatic events which science never will totally decipher I think.
And there is no day without us being confronted by both ( more by death when you watch the news...), and no day without me thinking and fantasising about these topics.

I have been fascinated by the genius of Leonardo da Vinci for a long time.  Two years ago I visited a brilliant exhibition in his manor house in Amboise (Loire/France), where he lived until his death. They reconstructed many of his engines and inventions, and huge semi-transparent posters showing his drawings were hanging from the trees in the surrounding parc.
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) was an Italian Renaissance genius: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer.
As a successful artist, he was given permission to dissect human corpses at the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence and later at hospitals in Milan and Rome. From 1510 to 1511 he collaborated in his studies with the doctor Marcantonio della Torre. Leonardo made over 200 pages of drawings and many pages of notes towards a treatise on anatomy.

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.

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 - origin unknown

"Origin Unknown" - mixed media on canvas (100cm x 65cm)

This is the first time I tried cold wax on one of my paintings. Very exciting! Wax mutes the colours and structures, so the whole looks quite different after the application. I'm sure I have A LOT to learn about this technique. Looking forward to it!

Mixed Media painting - Fisherman's Friend

"Fisherman's Friend" (mixed media, 30x25cm, acrylics and found objects on hardboard)

 

Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
’Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea !  

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

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)

crazy skin

Mixed media with paper, sand, acrylics on board.

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