Monday, January 16, 2012

"LUSCIOUS" wax! ... two videos of artists who pour encaustic

The month of December brought some very large challenges in my life . . so I'm "switching gears" so to speak! I will be posting the two paintings from my last post, when they are completed.


I so appreciate seeing your icons here, and I hope you enjoy viewing these videos . . . . .

The two artists' videos here are Leah MacDonald and Howard Hersh. Leah uses encasutic medium with her photography, and Howard Hersh uses pigmented encasutic medium in his paintings.  


I came across Leah MacDonald's video on pinterest. She combines encaustic medium with her photography. (Damar resin crystals are melted and combined with melted beeswax to produce this wax medium. The resin gives the wax more strength, as the beeswax alone is not strong enough to give a painting the durability and resilience it needs. It may be tinted with pigment or oil paint or used clear. The clear medium produces depth and transparency. The more layers that are used, the more transparent the surface becomes. Then there is the scraping to selectively reveal.) It "feels" very, very luscious to me, and I believe that is the reason I was so drawn to using it. Viewing these videos "feels" really luscious to me! I am entranced.


If you click on this youtube's video link above, there is a description of her "In My Body" project that relates to this video.

Visit Leah's website to view her luscious images. She also has a blog . . www.bliss-etc.com and she is having an upcoming workshop in her Philadelphia Studio on March 11th and 12. I don't have a set-up to pour encaustic, but I would LOVE to be "a fly on the wall" to watch her process . . luscious!

The next video shows Howard Hersh pouring pigmented encaustic paint to create his paintings . . 


This video is also on his website as well as youtube.
(This video was created and produced by, Cari Hernandez, who also paints with encaustic.
Click on her name (her website) to see her paintings. She also has a WaxTwist website . .
 a resource for artists who work with encaustic plus information on her workshops & DVD's.
 On her youtube channel you can view her encaustic demonstrations
as well as videos she has created and produced of 
 other artists who work with encaustic.)
I love watching encaustic process!

Howard has a much different set-up for pouring wax to create his paintings. As you can see, he places his painting surface on workbenches and pours the pigmented encaustic. The paint drips over the edges of the surface and sticks/hardens on the benches, creating multi-colored horizontal lines of paint. As encaustic dries quickly (as soon as it is cooled by the air), his benches become three dimensional wax "sculptures". I also would like to be "a fly on the wall" of his studio.

Thanks so much to these artists for sharing their process on video! I could (and will!) watch them over and over and over . . LUSCIOUSNESS!!! . . and . . I love being able to satisfy my "hunger" for viewing art through the internet!

14 comments:

  1. Thanks Jan. I love to see an artist at work.

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  2. Very luscious indeed! I wish i could smell the beeswax.

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  3. Very inspiring Jann!
    I especially like the work of H.Hersh.
    Many thanks for sharing!

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  4. Leslie . . Yes . . I do too . . working with wax is especially seductive to me.

    Robyn . . Ah . . beeswax . . it feels like a kind of "organic" connection when working. So many other enticing mediums, but the wax "calls" to me.

    Ralph . . You're welcome! Howard also uses full, hollow paneled doors to paint on! Very large for the encaustic process, as it hardens to quickly.

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  5. Good to see you post again. I will come back and view these when I have more time. As Leslie says, it is always fun to see artists at work. Hope life has settled down for you now. Wishing you a brilliant 2012.

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  6. You know Leah Macdonald was featured on Oprah a few years ago. I dont watch tv but for awhile the video on her on the show was somehow available. I dont believe we saw her tattoos
    then though, LOL.

    I loved the H. Hersh video. Loved what he said about art. Loved the sawhorses and picked up the great idea of using those pliers or whatever they are to pick up hot tins. His work is beautiful. Thank you.

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  7. Carole . . thank you . . life is finally settling down.

    Suki . . I didn't know that Leah was on Oprah .. would have loved to have seen that show. I also resonate very much with what Howard says about creating art . . VERY much!

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  8. I hope to get a change to view these videos soon; love stumbling onto these YouTube gems! Happy 2012, Jann!

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  9. Luscious is right. These are both fascinating videos and it is so interesting how different artists approach their work so differently.

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  10. Kelly .. love when I find a youtube gem. And best to you in 2012!

    Seth . . glad you enjoyed them. I watch them over and over.

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  11. I am always very impressed when I see artists who work large with encaustic.. I have taken a few workshops and I have ALL the equipment and wax and such.. but I rarely try to do an encaustic -- have only tackled small ones with collage.. and they are hard to do.. exhausting to me.. so hence my huge admiration.

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  12. Hi Donna ... I didn't know that (about having all the encaustic equipment). It is a challenge with collage, because of air being "caught" underneath the paper . . and the fusing (too much can "lift" the paper) is an art in itself. It also (depending on what kind) can darken the paper.. And working large .. quite a physical challenge. I'm just starting a piece 24 x 24, my largest so far.

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  13. Have a look at the video of Jenny Sages an Australian artist who pours wax then works into it. The video is available to watch at King street gallery, Sydney.
    http://kingstreetgallery.com.au/artists/jenny-sages/video/
    she is a national treasure!

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    1. Hi Mo . . thank you for the video links. I have seen her work and love it.

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