End of a Series

"Approaching Michigan Avenue"

30" x 30"

mixed media encaustic on panel

How do you know when a series is complete? For me, a year ago I started challenging myself to work larger with the encaustic medium and shortly after I moved to Chicago, I started photographing places I visited in the city. It was a huge contrast from the landscapes I painted when I lived in New England, and I was determined to combine elements of nature in between skyscrapers, concrete, and urban chaos. I have now completed a series of larger cityscapes (you can see them on my website here) and I am ready to move onto the next thing....

...the next thing, for me, happens to be encaustic monotypes. Watercolor was the only medium I worked with for over 20 years and working on paper feels natural and connected to my past. Being able to use much thinner layers of encaustic paint, fusing directly to paper without a torch or heat gun, allowing translucent qualities of the paint to build the composition layer upon layer, all brings me back to my love of watercolor techniques. I am sure I will continue to photograph places I visit, and maybe the large cityscape paintings will continue, but not until after I play around with the monotype process!

Upcoming shows and events

"Rock Falling"

Encaustic Monotype

18" x 12"

This weekend will be my last of the summer outdoor art festivals for this season and now that I have a few under my belt, I am definitely going to apply to more opportunities next spring and summer. The 42nd Annual Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival is held along the lakefront in Centennial Park, August 2 & 3 from 11am - 6pm. I will be featuring new cityscape paintings along with nature inspired monotypes, (most of the monotypes will be in my portfolio rack). I also have planned for a new booth design and look forward to sharing photographs.

Another opportunity to see some of my new work is at Unbound(ed), An Encaustic Exhibition, in Morpho Gallery, Chicago. Tonight is the opening reception, 6 - 9:30pm and the show runs through the month of August. This year Morpho gallery opened submissions to all national encaustic artists (not just regional) and the quality of work is phenomenal.

Morpho Gallery

"Beach"

Encaustic Monotype

12" x 18"

"Upstream", diptych

Encaustic on panel

8" x 16"

I have to admit, on a whim, I decided to submit to Real People - an exhibition of Figurative Work. My inspiration most often comes from land but experimenting with self portraits was a part of my studio practice while I attended graduate school several years ago. The show is sponsored by the Northwest Area Arts Council in the Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL and runs from August 7 - September 28, 2014.

Real People - an exhibition of Figurative Work

"Self Portrait in Blue"

Encaustic on panel

8" x 8"

Starting in September, I will once again be teaching encaustic painting at the North Shore Art League, Winnetka, IL.

North Shore Art League

Going with the Flow

"Blue Sky"

mixed media on paper, almost done...

26" x 40"

Realizing the trees were underdeveloped, I made an adjustment...

I like to work in series, the urban setting that surrounds me daily is my biggest inspiration. I have been focusing on the image transfer process and had attempted to fuse an image onto watercolor paper, but that did not go well. Once I realized the image was not going to adhere properly, I decided to paint without the transfer and ended up free hand drawing the skyline of the city (this is a view from the Lincoln Park Zoo bridge). I added Tengucho paper dipped in wax to create cloud texture, used R&F oil sticks, and Kama dry pigments (copper, graphite, and rouge). 

It was the first time I worked with an oil based paint on paper, it felt like I was side tracked from my original plan, but the process was fun and I finally got to use some of the really cool supplies I bought at the encaustic conference in June.

The first weekend in August I will be at the last outdoor festival I signed up to participate in this season and my motivation has been to have new, city-inspired work. I managed to complete this smaller painting of the Willis Tower, 18" x 6" on cradled panel a few weeks ago, and it is an extension of my Navy Pier painting, the two pieces coordinate and can hang together.

In between the transfer work, I am also working with monotypes. The process lends itself to working abstractly, but I am feeling more of a connection to watercolor washes and hope to create prints with the subtle feel of landscape. I am bouncing back and forth, but I am determined to find a way to connect the dots between these two styles.

A few more monotypes -

Mountain Stream, 16" x 22" on mulberry paper

Both of these are 12" x 18" on kozo (sumi-e) paper. Sand comes to mind, and the beach...

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. 

Navy Pier

Navy Pier

30" x 30" 

encaustic collage on cradled panel

I continue to be inspired to paint places I have been since moving back to Chicago. These new paintings are turning into a series, and the key elements are landmark locations and architecture in Chicago, working large, using wax as the primary medium. I have printed a group of my favorite photos, this is the 2nd of 5 photos to be collaged, and the first of what will be a transition into new techniques and materials.

Rather than transferring the black and white photo (what I have always done in the past), I collaged it into wax medium directly on a cradled birch panel. After fusing layers of wax underneath and on top of the photo, I decided to add dry pigments (recently purchased at the encaustic conference), using copper, graphite, and silver. Safety is a priority, I put on rubber gloves and rubbed the powdered pigments directly into the encaustic medium fused onto the photo. I also added oil sticks (white, blue) rubbed into the sky, and then dipped a strip of mulberry paper into wax, collaged it to add sculptural qualities to the prominent building on the left, Lake Point Tower. I also collaged paper on the far right along the wooden wall structure in the foreground.

I have been running so many ideas through my mind ever since the conference, I have new supplies and tools, and want to continue to experiment and discover new ways of sharing my creative energy with the world.

Crazy Month

I used to check my blog daily, was really good about keeping up with others, but a month has passed and I am just now finding time to blog. I think other social media sites (Facebook, twitter, instagram, linked in, pinterest, vine, to name a few) have made the blogspot network less of a focus for many of us, or maybe it's just me not finding the time to write a more in depth summary of my art life and news. Regardless, a lot has happened in the past month and I would like to share.

The first week in June I attended the Encaustic Conference in Provincetown, MA. It had been 4 years since I had been to the conference and I was ready to absorb and learn new things (the best teachers continue to also be some of the best students, in my opinion), and this conference is a mecca for all things encaustic. There was a vendor room with everything your encaustic mind could fathom, all day events, demonstrations and talks, intense 3 days of artistic sharing, educating, inspiration, and networking. A highlight for me was watching demonstrations using a HOTBOX™ as a palette instead of an electric griddle; I am now inspired to work with encaustic on paper rather than on board. I interviewed Pat Spainhour for the FusedChicago blog, she demonstrated scroll works, painting on the hotbox, and talked about incorporating Asian sumi-e influences in her work; you can read my interview here. After watching Paula Roland demonstrate various monoprint techniques using her trademark HOTBOX, I decided to purchase one for my continued exploration and self-education of encaustic painting.

The last day of the conference I participated in the hotel fair and as a result, a new gallery (28 & Bank Studio) opening in Harwich Port, MA (Cape Cod) end of the week will have an assortment of my small encaustic mixed media works for sale. 

The month of July will be the perfect opportunity to play with new ideas. Having just completed my 2nd outdoor art festival weekend, I will now have time to develop some works on paper before my 3rd art festival weekend August 2-3 at the Lakeshore Arts Festival in Evanston, IL. I also added lots of small works to my Etsy shop, and with the monoprint process consuming all of my creative energy I look forward to sharing a new direction in the coming weeks.

Booth Shot from Art in the Village this past weekend -

Chicago is Home

Chicago Skyline, view from Larrabee Street

4 x 8 

mixed media on 300 lb paper

It's almost my one year anniversary since moving back to Chicago after 25 years of living in New England and I have been asking myself why I am so inspired by the city, its buildings, and people. I find comfort in the Gothic architecture, the Greystones and Brownstones, the grid-like flow of traffic, the Lakefront, the local hangouts and especially this time of year, the outdoor cafes. My childhood memories are all rooted in this city, my grandparents lived off of Lake Shore Drive, and every time I drive past where they lived it reminds me of how happy my childhood was. I never realized how much I missed this place until I moved back. Now that I live here it's as if I can't get enough and everywhere I go I see something new that I want to translate into art. 

City Dogs

7.5 x 11 

mixed media on 300 lb paper

Luxe Cafe

2.5 x 3.5 

mixed media on board

Greystone on Pine Grove

4 x 6

mixed media on 300 lb paper

Tulips along the Drive

3.5 x 2.5 

mixed media on board

And my newest discovery - Kozo mulberry paper for transferring photos. The effect is almost blurry, and there is a an ethereal feeling after fusing into the wax medium. I am going to look into finding a printer that can handle much larger Kozo paper.

Chicago Skyline 2, view from Diversey Harbor

4 x 6 

mixed media on Kozo

These new works will be going to the Encaustic Conference in Provincetown two weeks from today. I am participating in the hotel fair and hope to fit about 15 total into my suitcase.

Spring Art Festival

Success. It had been over two years since I last exhibited in a weekend art festival and this was my first outdoor exhibition in many years. Remembering the process to accept credit card purchases (by using Square One, a small device that plugs into my cell phone), was probably the biggest challenge of the weekend!

It's definitely a crap shot, deciding which festivals to apply to, hoping the weather cooperates, and hoping people come to see the work (when I lived in MA I only participated indoor after hurricane force winds ruined my tent one Labor Day weekend many years ago). From what I gathered, many of the participants in this weekends Riverside Art Festival were disappointed. Lots of people came, not so many were interested in buying big items, fortunately I had a wide range of price points. I am going to be exhibiting in two more weekend festivals, the next is in June, then August. I will need that much time to rest up and energize between shows.

My booth setup:

Pre- show opening, early Saturday morning:

I am really looking forward to resting tomorrow, organizing, and if I am lucky I will be able to get back into painting new work. I exhibited watercolor paintings this past weekend, but I admit that my focus has been more on mixed media encaustic paintings. My next two shows will only be featuring new mixed media encaustic work.

Art in the Village
Lakeshore Arts Festival

The S-Curve

The S-Curve

18" x 24" mixed media

photo transfer, encaustic, pigment, oil pastel

Size does matter! I have a 30" x 40"encausticbord panel and plan on transferring this image once I can focus without interruption. It will take time just to prepare the panel with layers of encaustic medium, transferring the image will require patience. When I try to rush things, I end up ripping the paper which distorts the image. The fun part for me is when I can finally add color and depth using pigments, oil pastel, and wax, the process brings the piece to life.

Lake Shore Drive

photo taken yesterday

Every where I go, I look at the Chicago architecture and I continue to be in awe. I want to paint buildings and angles and combine nature with the urban settings, in order to soften the feeling of the city created in my art. I hope I can do justice to this photo once transferred into wax. The first version will be 18" x 24", and then I plan on using the same image to photo transfer onto a 30" x 40" board (largest single encaustic piece to date). I hope to start preparing the panel tomorrow.

In the meantime, I taught an encaustic workshop on Saturday at the North Shore Art League in Winnetka, IL and it sounds like I will be offering a weekly encaustic class in the fall. More information will be available this summer on their website (and mine).

I also received an email from the gallery director at Chicago Art Source on Friday informing me that two of my paintings were included in the International Art, Antique, and Jewelry show at Navy Pier this past weekend. The gallery teamed up with the Susan Fredman interior design group and although my paintings seemed to be more of an accessory to the furnishings, it was incredible publicity in a fantastic place that I did not expect. When things like this happen, I remind myself why a gallery gets 50% of an art sale, they provide exposure in places I can not get to on my own.

Full booth shot

Gallery shot, my work on the left of the wall sculpture