Encaustic painting

I painted this a few months ago, before I decided to go with a (almost) totally black and white palate . . . taken with my new camera . . . AND . . . just today, I figured out how to crop it in Iphoto.

                                  16 x 16 encaustic & oil on cradled panel


This will be the start of a series called semiotics (sign/symbol). This image is the third painting on this substate, and the beeswax is very thick. The word encaustic artist/teacher, Cari Hernandez, has used for one of her paintings is luscious. That's how I feel about encaustic paint, and this one in particular; as I paint, fuse, and visually "take in" it's organic, uneven surface. There were many  paintings before, as I was learning how to control the wax and get a smooth surface. Now that I know how to do that (I like to know all "angles" of a medium before I feel comfortable with chosing one way), I intend to use a looser touch with more texture. (The encaustic below is newer, and it is the start of the b/w palette.) It was quite a challenge to paint in many, many layers; get the design and compostion the way I wanted, seal each layer to the one below it with a torch; and keep the surface relatively smooth . . . teaching myself for about 4-5 months of daily painting. 


I've been working on an acrylic & MM on paper, and it's almost done (another learning session with a new medium).


I found an installation of an artist, Jeffrey Allen Price, on the internet today, and it reminded me a little of this one . . . rust (his are real) and circles.

jeffreyallenprice.com

It is very large and is made up of squares of a cloth that look similar to some kind of organic felt with rust.  On the website the photo shows piles of squares stacked in piles on the floor, and the squares that are attached are one large wall hanging in the picture above.