Creating texture in encaustic

One of my favourite attributes of encaustic is the ease with which you can create  surface textures.  I've been experimenting  using fabric and paper to create various effects.  Sometimes the exploration results in a completed work that I am proud of, and other times I end up with a sample board I use to illustrated points in encaustic workshops.

Starting with one piece of  patterned paper....

I began this piece with something totally different in mind as is often the way in art.  My interest in the patterns used in quilting and other hand crafts pervades my work in various ways.  This purchased paper in repetitive strips of patterns called to me.  I glued it on the panel with Yes Paste and added two coats of encaustic medium. It didn't inspire me in any way.  New road needed...  I began to cover up the patterns until only the white and black grid remained.

 

 That sparked me to find the scrap of tobacco netting a friend gave me and I was off to the races.

 

 Black and white #1, 2012, mixed media encaustic on cradled panel , 8 x 10 in.

 The grayish white area at the bottom and the black area at  top of the painting  was created with the netting and varying amounts of encaustic.  I let the white /black grid show through and then added the white squares using a stencil. 

Take one piece of white lace and ....

 
 attach it to the board using  black  encaustic.  Add several  more layers of  black  and then change to  red.  Fuse each layer.  When the pattern is completely covered with encaustic stop  and let cool.
Using a large blade scrape back to reveal the original pattern of the lace. A great sample board to show how to build up designs with fabric.you need two colours to show up the pattern.

Start with a very delicate paper..

Add layers of green encaustic and then blue and scrape away  to reveal the circular shapes with a blade.  The  raised grid is added using a stencil.

Ocean # 1 , 2012, encaustic and paper on cradled panel, 8 x 8 in.

It's about texture

Untitled, 6 x 6 in. encaustic, paper, pigment stick

I' m beginning to get a glimmer of what interests me most about using encaustic as a medium. It is absolutely wonderful for creating texture; being totally tactile this is an important characteristic for me. If you look back through my posts over the last several weeks you will get a sense of the interesting effects that can be created by utilizing different papers or fabrics as a base for texture.

By experimentation and not being tied down to the production of a final product, each of these sample boards have extended my understanding of the encaustic medium and how it relates to paper. I am thankful to my friend and fellow encaustic explorer Carol for giving me the paper I used in the work above. So it's all about process right now, but where will it lead me in terms of content? What do I want to say that is important? That's emerging to...

To take the pressure of me let's look at another artist.

There are always artists with similar interests and aesthetics but each one communicates "an expression in a voice most have not heard" says Robin Luciano Beaty. Her small abstracts speak to me of landscape- not the landscape of specific reproductions of space- but of the glimpses, sudden insights and impressions one gleans by observing the movement of nature.

Above and Beyond Series at Three Graces Gallery

Remains to be seen