Peaks and Flights

Red Tipped Rufous

I've begun to play with collage a little. I have so much respect for people who do it successfully - making an interesting composition out of scraps of things is really challenging. In this piece, I dipped my toe in a wee bit just to see how well the additional fabric and paper would adhere just by placing it into the wax. I've prepped a couple of panels but the process has me yearning for acrylics.

Structures

I was playing around in my studio in December and this little guy emerged. I was hoping for a series - and maybe there's one in me still, but maybe not.

Acceptance

I like things tidy. I like glassy surfaces worked to perfection by applying an exact amount of heat over the entire surface. I like my images to transfer evenly, perfectly, with no peeled carbon or broken lines. 

This is a crazy medium for someone who craves this degree of order. Encaustic image transfers are messy, scratchy, broken, and faded. 

For this image, I tried and failed to get the transfer to stay intact and after numerous attempts I discovered that if I did not insist on a perfectly smooth surface, void of any brush strokes, I would be less likely to destroy the image. You may be able to see the brushstrokes even in the photograph. This is my attempt at acceptance. 

The Middle

Happy New Year Bloggers! It's hard to believe it's the middle of January already. The studio move is slowing morphing into actual progress. I went from a tiny space to a rather large space and I still haven't moved any of my furniture but the new studio is already pretty full. I've been fortunate that I've been able to take my time with the move, but at some point, I'm going to have to haul the big stuff out of Anderson Street, even if it lands on the side walk. In the meantime, I have a twelve foot table to work on and this is one of the pieces I completed in the new space. 

In Search of Balance 16" x 20"

I have an aluminum Christmas tree with pink lights, pink ribbon, and pink and green bulbs. I nearly squeal with delight every time I see it. I think having a well designed and well dressed tree is something I'll do from now on. I'll keep my collection of mix and match ornaments for now, but I'm ready to toss them all out and start each year with a design challenge and then execute it. I know it's not so "green" but at least my tree will go back in the box and come out again next year.

You may be wondering what that has to do with encaustic painting. Well, it's a challenge to maintain balance in ordinary times, and especially challenging during the holidays. This painting is a little reminder.  Here's to all the big and small efforts.

Autumn Flight

We camped at Manresa in September for Trish's birthday (and our anniversary). On the way home we hit a bunch of beaches along the coast. This was taken by Trish while I ran around the beach trying to get the gulls to fly. They were so accustomed to beach combers they barely got off the ground as I ran around waving my arms in the air. She should have taken a picture of that.