Up From Below

Up From Below

10x10x2"

Encaustic on panel

©2012

This painting will be part of the exhibit Wax: Contemporary Encaustic Works

at the Pajaro Valley Arts Council. 

Open March 1st through April 15th

Timeworn & Forgotten

Timeworn & Forgotten

Encaustic, ink, paper on panel

10x10x2"

©2012 

This piece will be part of an exhibit at the Pajaro Valley Arts Council 

 Wax: Contemporary Encaustic Works, is on view March 1st through April 15th

For more information, click here. 

Echo

Echo

Encaustic, ink, thread and paper on panel

10x10x2"

©2012

This painting will be included in an exhibit titled Wax: Contemporary Encaustic Works
On view at the Pajaro Valley Arts Council in Watsonville, CA

March 1st through April 15th

New Year, New Work

January is often a time for new goals and looking ahead.  I am not an exception to this.  I do, however, tend to keep my goals and plans for paintings on the quiet side.  For me, talking about my intentions and inspiration for upcoming paintings has the effect of deflating the energy and momentum behind it.  I'd rather keep my ideas brewing, just between me and my sketchbook.  I want the work to be as exciting and fresh for you as it was for me in dreaming it up. 

That said, I'm excited about the new year in art-making.  I've been busy in the studio and have prepped, primed and sanded at least 40+ canvases and panels.  Time to get to work!

And currently in the studio... one of a few works in progress.... 

Stay tuned!  

A Gathering

Encaustic on panel

6x6"

Resting Among The Rushes

Resting Among The Rushes

Encaustic on panel

4x6"

Where The Crow Flies

Where The Crow Flies

Encaustic on Panel

4x4"

©2012 

Track Record

Encaustic on panel

4x4"

©2012

Treasury

Treasury

Encaustic on panel

6x6"

Why I can't paint Yosemite

Question for you artists out there:  What imagery are you drawn towards?  For me, I tend to love the landscape... but usually specific elements of the landscape really get me going.  The light at midday or big grand vistas don't usually do it for me.  Late afternoon is my favorite, when the colors deepen, shadows get long and the play of lights and darks offers plenty of contrast.  I have a soft spot for trees, particularly singular trees, in the landscape.  I am drawn to water, fog and where sea and sky meet.  To me, these moments are full of drama, but I tend to think of them as more intimate moments. 

Don't get me wrong...  big dramatic places like Big Sur are really beautiful, but I'm not as compelled to paint them.  I think perhaps if I found a little cove and if the light was just right... well, I'd paint that.  

I found myself thinking about this over Thanksgiving weekend when my family and I took a trip to Yosemite National Park.  I really enjoyed it all and took lots of photos. The Sierras are gorgeous and we visited Yosemite Valley, taking in the towering waterfalls and immense granite cliffs.  We also visited Mariposa Grove to see the ancient Sequoia trees.  All in all, breathtaking. 

What I will most likely end up doing a painting of is this one tree that I spotted on our road trip.  We came across a large reservoir in the Central Valley where we stopped to stretch our legs.  The light was gorgeous and I found myself drawn to this one wonderful tree down in the water.  

The closer I got to this beauty, the better it got:

Don't be surprised if you see this image come back in the form of a painting in the near future.

My husband snapped a photo of me at work, doing research for paintings.  You can see it on his blog here:

House on Bear Mountain 

This is me in Yosemite, at Tunnel View.

Be Still

8x8"

Oil and wax on a cradled birch panel

Available

This painting involves oil mixed with a cold wax medium.  The surface is soft & luminous.  This painting does not have spackle under the painting, unlike the recent paintings that I've talked about, so it does not have as textured of a surface.  It's also on a cradled wood backing, so it hangs off the wall and does not need framing.   I'm excited about these new landscapes, and I really like working with wax and wood.  

Whaler's Cove

8x8" 

Oil and wax on spackle over an un-cradled panel

Available

This painting continues along in the same spirit as the piece below.  I describe in detail some of what is going on behind these new pieces.  This particular image is from a photo that I took along the California coast.  Whaler's Cove is up near Pigeon Point, where I spent some time recently.  It's about 25 miles north of Santa Cruz.   

I've been using my iPhone as a tool for my paintings.  I've been thrilled to discover that my phone takes great photos and that there are some really wonderful photo apps out there for manipulating images.  These photos have been an increasingly important source of imagery for my paintings.  I love that I can use new technology to bring something to what is a very old-school process. 

This painting reflects a recent approach that I'm taking in my work.  I wanted to use oil and wax, paint on wood, paint over spackle, and wanted to use an image that feels like a vintage photograph.  I wanted something that felt old and timeless, but with a contemporary edge. 

Blackbird Crossing

8x8" Oil and wax over spackle on un-cradled panel.  

Available

This painting reflects a recent approach that I'm taking in my work.  I wanted to use oil and wax, paint on wood, paint over spackle, and wanted to use an image that feels like a vintage photograph.  I wanted something that felt old & timeless, but with a contemporary edge. 

I received an email recently from a beekeeper on the East Coast.  After some talk back and forth about the paintings, he mentioned that he enjoyed some of my earlier work that involved wax.  It got me thinking:  what was it about that medium that I enjoyed?  Why did I move away from it?  I thought I'd go back in and give it another whirl.  The beauty of using cold wax medium is that when mixed with oil paint it becomes more matte and creates interesting textures.  You have to really play with it to figure out the right ratios of oil to wax and pay attention to drying times.  I also mix in alkyd medium to control gloss and flow.  So, that's what I'm using here and in some other works soon to follow.  The spackle came again from earlier works that I had experimented with.  The spackle creates a textured surface that emulates an old frescoed wall.  I wanted the painting to have that texture... of feeling a bit rough, not so pristine and smack of something old.  As for the imagery, I have birds on the brain lately. as I'm reading a book called Birdology.  I had done a recent painting using a similar image, and just really wanted to paint birds in flight again.  In keeping with the mood that I was after, I was thinking about vintage cameras and film and what the image would look like if it were taken with a pinhole camera.   I wanted a painting that had an image that was fleeting, with a look that speaks of age and time passed. 

I'm continuing my exploration of encaustic paint on a small scale.  In this painting, I'm working on creating a landscape that feels similar in spirit to those that I create in oil paints.  The wax lends itself to a depth and luminosity that adds to the ephemeral or fairytale-like essence of this piece. 

At Forest's Edge

4x4" (on a 2" deep panel)

Encaustic paint

Available

Bird Among the Bramble

4x4"

Encaustic on cradled panel 

Available

My vintage computer & scanner that I use in my studio is on the fritz this week, so I'm going with pics uploaded from my phone.  

October was a crazy busy over-scheduled kind of month and somehow it flew by with very little studio time.  As we head deep into November, I jump at any carved-out time that becomes available to run to the studio.   Pictured here is my glass palette where I take quite a bit of time mixing up colors before I even begin to paint.  I'm playing with wax medium combined with a bit of alkyd medium to get certain effects that are unique to using this combination.  

Because my studio is not heated, I'm thrilled if it's a warm enough day that I can work with my doors open to the outside.   Not pictured here is my ever-present dog Bella, who considers it her job to accompany me to the studio. 

I'm working on these panels that have been prepped first with spackle & artist's gesso to create a surface that's reminiscent of an old frescoed wall.  My reference photos & colors are mostly from iPhone photos that I've taken.  I'm using the wax & oil combination described above, going for a very seductive and beautiful surface.  As always, I'm after a particular sense of light, mood and atmosphere. 

Hopefully I'll get that scanner back up & running soon and will post detailed images of these newest works.  In the meantime, be sure to check out my available paintings page.  There are a few small scale paintings that would an excellent option for upcoming holiday wish lists!  

For available paintings, click here. 

Solitude

Oil on panel

6x6"

SOLD

Golden Bee

Oil on canvas

2x2"

This is one of my smallest canvasses yet.  At 2" square, I think it qualifies as a mini. 

SOLD

Confetti

Encaustic on panel

6x6"

Available

Blackbird Bramble

Blackbird Bramble

8x8", Oil on panel

Sold

This image seems fitting, as we head into the last week of October.  Something about this images reminds me of old fairy tales.  Like something out of Grimm.

I've been interested in birds lately, keeping an eye out for them.  I've been taking photos of birds gathering on power lines and tree tops.  I'm sure that the images will find their way into my paintings.   

When I began this painting, I wanted the surface to feel like an old fresco.  Instead of my usual smooth surface over canvas or panel, I began by adding a layer of spackle, which then was coated with a layer of gesso.  The surface was exactly what I wanted:  textured and highly absorbent.  My oil glazes played off of the surface that gave me that old world and mysterious look that I was after.