Landscapes

"Storm Sky"

30" x 40" encaustic on panel

"Storm Sky", small version

8" x 16" encaustic on panel, diptych

"Sitting at the Pond"

6" x 12" encaustic on panel, diptych

Ready for the summer festival season to begin? The first event I am participating in is the Wells Street Art Festival  http://www.wellsstreetartfest.us   

Seasonal Inspiration

Finally, the month of May... spring is here, I see fresh new greens in the grass and trees, and flowers finally have appeared. Seasonal landscapes have always inspired my art and recently I decided to paint the same image using different encaustic techniques each time. I was exploring and open to the possibilities.

Lupines grow wild and peak during the end of spring. In Sugar Hill, New Hampshire there is a festival every year and I crave the New England landscape when I think about the blue-lavender flowers sitting in turquoise-green open fields, tucked in between the White Mountains, covered by the warm hues of sunrise or sunset.

"Lupine Sunset" (below) is 16" x 16", encaustic on a cradled encausticbord panel. This piece was the first of the series that recently became lessons for myself.

I started by using an electric tjanting tool to draw directly on the board with encaustic paint. I was consumed by the colors and textures created by continuous motion using the tool and at one point had thought this painting would remain very linear and abstract (2nd image below) but soon realized it did not have enough depth as a drawing. I decided to pour orange tinted wax medium on the sky background, and green tinted medium on the foreground, and was happier with the quieted contrasting colors between land and sky. Pouring the wax also allowed for a greater sense of depth, visually and literally.

The second version, "Sugar Hill" is 24" x 18", encaustic on a cradled encausticbord (below). It was important to me to not loose the abstract, impressionistic details of the wax drawing. I had to create depth using layers of contrasting color.

The 3rd version, "Field of Dreams" 30" x 40" encaustic and oil stick on a cradled encausticbord panel. This time I poured the wax first (2nd image below) and made sure I left the sunset colors transparent, a light wash of colors, a technique very reminiscent of how I apply watercolor washes to paper. I poured color in the grassy foreground, and proceeded to add depth and details using both the tjanting tool and oil sticks. Working large is always a challenge, but after exploring the different ways to apply layers of wax, I feel the wash technique is the most successful.

Nothing can replace the love I have for New England and it's landscapes, and now that I live in the city of Chicago at least I can revisit my favorite places in my paintings.

Face of Buddha

We are in the midst of primary elections here and there is no escape ... from the daily news, the debates ... the disrespect between candidates, between different political parties, and the lack of compassion and respect has led me to a feeling of disconnect and political hopelessness. I rarely let myself get caught in political controversy. I don't like conflict.

In general, when I am challenged with relationships in life, I have always found personal comfort in Buddhist philosophy; to simply lead a moral life, to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and to develop wisdom and understanding.  The search for a quiet, tranquil place has led me to a new series, "Face of Buddha". My goal is to create 100 Buddha paintings, some inspired by actual statuary others inspired by feelings and abstract concepts. I plan on sharing these during the upcoming festival (and election) season and hope I am able to encourage meditative thoughts and actions.

All of the paintings in the series are 10" x 8", mixed media encaustic on cradled birch panels, (and priced at $250). I have completed 15 paintings to date and plan on continuing developing the series until I reach my goal of 100.

New directions

January came and went, and after recovering from the holidays my creative energy was focused on continuing the development of two distinct bodies of new work. In addition, I resumed teaching encaustic painting classes and workshops at two locations on the North Shore of Chicago. Class information is posted on websites for The Evanston Art Center, The North Shore Art League

In the fall I started working with encaustic using a Tjanting tool combined with a wax pour. My desire to create time and place by simply using color and the sensibility of depth has kept me entranced.  Understanding abstract art and painting with pure feeling led to the "Elemental" series. A few new samples below:

"Squall"

encaustic on cradled wood panel

10" x 22"

"Ice"

encaustic on cradled wood panel, diptych

10" x 20" 

I decided to submit "Ice" to the juried winter show at the Copley Society of Art and the best feedback for me was hearing this piece was accepted into the show.

"Swarm"

encaustic on cradled wood panels, hexaptych

8" x 12"

I have also been developing a new collection of encaustic monotypes. I decided to incorporate traditional silk scrolls for the presentation of many of these works. I often cut and collage the prints using the white space on the scroll to enhance the work. A few new samples below:

"Yellow Mountains" 

34” x 9”

Cascade

59.5” x 23.5”

Wisdom Tree

65” x 15”

Another highlight for me will occur in March when I am curating my student's show at the North Shore Art League. Ten past and present students have been invited to display up to three encaustic pieces and we are looking forward to sharing with the public how creatively each artist uses the medium. I will be sharing more show details as they become available.

A Year of the Full Moon, the book

I am now offering the Full Moon Series of watercolor paintings in paperback 8.5" x 11" book form.

The Full Moon series is a year long interpretation of the visual effects of the lunar cycle. Each painting represents my dream-like rendition of the seasonal landscape and captures the mystical nature of the moon. I have also included several poems along with a brief description of the Native American inspiration behind each of the paintings.

The cost is $36 plus $7 shipping, available anywhere in the U.S. Once your order is placed it will take approximately 10 days before your book will be received.

You can purchase by clicking on the link - paypal 
and/or preview the book - here  

Additional inquiries, questions, or concerns can be sent directly to my email here.

Earth's Energy and the beginning of a New Series

Swarm

a :  a large number of animate or inanimate things massed together and usually in motion :  throng <swarms of sightseers> swarm

of locusts> swarm of meteors>

b :  a number of similar geological features or phenomena close together in space or time swarm

of dikes> swarm>

“We think the natural world has a lot to teach us about efficiency,” said Kerbel. “And bees and other swarming animals are among nature’s best examples of teamwork and efficiency. Our technology injects swarm theory into a grid that has historically been simple and manual, and makes it intelligent and automatic.”

* From the Environmental Defense fund website - www.edf.org/energy/innovation/demand-management-innovation

Classes have kept me away from blogging regularly, and now that the fall sessions are coming to an end I have time to share the new direction my work has taken; thinking about the landscape, earth, and the energy sources that nature provides. In a way, the Swarm Series reminds me of my Full Moon Series as both series interpret energy in the natural world. The moons were painted using watercolor, and spatters of color to create energy radiating from the full moon. I was interviewed by a local reporter when I was in the midst of the full moon series and he wrote an article that best described my artistic direction. A favorite quote from the article:

"Painting, Samiljan learned, was less about recreating what it is she saw, but is, in fact, more about transferring energy. Accessibility, then, becomes contingent on each specific viewer's impression. There's something in her paintings she hopes appeals to a wide audience, she says." The entire article is available here - Full Moon Fever

Swarms of color using encaustic medium and pigments, pouring layers of wax to create a greater visual depth of energetic brush strokes, are a similar interpretation with these new encaustic paintings but this time energy is not celestial, it's earthly. I look forward to sharing more new work as the series develops.

Catch up when you can!

Teaching three weekly classes, introducing new techniques each week, and completing demonstration paintings for each class has taken a toll on my studio time. I have also organized works to be included in upcoming holiday shows, can you believe it's that time of year? and have been working toward moving in a new direction and new series; personal goals are now set. I will share results here but for now I am posting a few new favorite demo paintings from weekly classes.

"Exploring the Universe", colors of Autumn

45" x 18" 

encaustic monotype on Kozo

"Falling Leaves"

18" x 12"

encaustic monotype on Kozo

"Swept Away 1"

10" x 8"

encaustic and shellac on board

"Swept Away 2"

10" x 8"

encaustic and shellac on board

And this last piece was created by pouring top layers of wax rather than painting it onto the panel.

Indian Summer

"Carrots"

12" x 12" mixed media on cradled panel

"Squash"

12" x 12" mixed media on cradled panel

"Daisies"

6" x 6" mixed media on cradled panel

Several weeks ago fall classes resumed and I am teaching encaustic painting in 2 locations (The Evanston Art Center and the North Shore Art League). Making time to create new work remains a priority each week. I have always used demo paintings as a tool to teach techniques. I work at home to complete demos started in class then bring them back to discuss how each piece was completed, this process usually involves some problem solving.

We have also worked with shellac burns and transfer foils...

and worked on building textures in wax.

The next few classes will cover drawing with wax using tjanting tools, mixing inks with wax, embedding objects, and encaustic monotypes.

My personal goal is to develop a new body of larger work that encompasses abstract landscapes defined with textures and colorful layers of wax... there aren't enough hours in the day.

Classes resume

It's hard to believe that September is just around the corner. Where did the summer go? Next week I resume teaching workshops and weekly encaustic classes starting with a one night workshop at the Evanston Art Center on August 26. I am also teaching at the North Shore Art League with a one day workshop on September 26. Details for all classes and workshops are available on the websites.

In between my art festival participation, I was able to complete a variety of new works inspired by every day life, the things I see, the places I go.... from the hustle and bustle of city life, to low key farmers markets. I love it all!

LaSalle Street

40" x 30" mixed media on wood panel

"Tomatoes"

12" x 12" mixed media on wood panel

The Good Earth

August is my month to take a break... but also a time to find new inspiration, create new work, and prepare for teaching upcoming workshops and weekly classes in the fall.

Summer art festivals are only a small part of what I do. What I love about the festivals is the opportunity to be up front and first hand with patrons, engage and educate people interested in what they see, to sell work to people that "fall in love"... and that does happen! I have had three excellent show experiences to date and my last festival is in September, right around the corner in my neighborhood, the Lakeview East Festival of Arts.

Last weekend I was in Michigan in an area that is known for it's vineyards and farming. The piece completed below was inspired by the vineyards in Baroda, MI.

"Grapevines"

12" x 12" 

mixed media encaustic on cradled panel

Before I left for Michigan I started a large cityscape, it's 40" x 30" and had been taking up most of my energy. The time off, painting something organic, was a much needed break but my goal is to complete this before my last festival exhibition. I will be fusing the wax, etching details, adding color and highlights with oil pastels, and probably lightening up some of the buildings. It helps stepping away and coming back with fresh eyes.

"LaSalle Street"

work in progress

My last bit of news is that a very special painting of mine, "Under the Chuppah" was accepted into the “Real People 2015” Northwest Area Arts Council National Show, opening August 6 - September 27 in Woodstock, IL.