Full Circle

"Kinzie Street Bridge"

18" x 24" 

encaustic mixed media on panel

I completed the painting above several weeks ago. It is part of my series of Chicago locations that continue to inspire me since moving back to the city. Where ever I go, I take photographs, transfer images, and paint them into wax medium, but something new has started to take hold of my creative juices.... encaustic monotypes.

"Pastoral"

8" x 8" 

encaustic monotype on paper

"Pastoral"

ghost print

"Sand"

8" x 8"

my first encaustic monotype on paper

ENCAUSTIC MONOTYPES

I attended the encaustic conference the beginning of June and it's taken me about a month to process what I learned. I had to purchase an anodized aluminum plate (with a larger one on the way) and for the first time in my life I have started making one of a kind prints using wax. I decided to add these new works to my website and included a description of the process -

Encaustic monotypes are created with an anodized aluminum plate. The wax is applied on a hot plate in order to transfer the wax image onto paper. A monotype is one of a kind, a unique piece of artwork. It is the simplest form of printmaking, requiring only pigments, a surface on which to apply them, paper and some form of press.

The printing process is quick and spontaneous, plus it requires advanced planning. In many ways, it reminds me of watercolor painting and some of my first prints feel like watercolor washes to me. It's funny that years later I am back full circle painting and using new techniques connecting with the same old basic principles of watercolor. Composition, color, and translucency.