OOps!

When I create encaustic monotypes I usually work with  mulberry paper on a roll and sometimes this paper is joined.   I get so caught up in the excitement of my creations I don't notice I have to move into a seam.  Now that is truly disappointing because I love this piece where the sun is nestled into the hills.

Would you mind a join in the paper?  

Sea and sky series

Living by the sea awakens your senses to all kinds of sounds, scents and sights.  The night sky is usually spectacular with thousands of stars hanging from the sky. I sometimes imagine them on springs just pulsating up and down as if they want to dislodge themselves and take the long trip to meet me in my little house by the sea.

These two works are  interpretative and just plain  fun. They will probably not make the cut for my exhibition but they are lively each in its own way.

Tumbling Stars #1, 2012, 3 ( 3.5 x 7.5 in. ) encaustic monotype on paper

Tumbling Stars #2, 2012, 3 ( 3.5 x 7.5 in. ) encaustic monotype on paper

Sea and sky

 

More  new work from my summer encaustic monotype marathon....

Northern Lights, 2012, 3 (3.5 x 7.5 in. ) encaustic monotype on mulberry paper

Every now and then  in the late fall I get to see the Northern lights at my summer house.  It is the only place I see them so they are part of the fabric of my experiences there. I often connect them with the ocean, only because the ocean is part of my experience there too.  I'm quite pleased with these bursting pulsations.

Interpreting landscape

 

From my summers in Duntara, a small coastal community in Newfoundland, I have learned to observe the landscape closely.  When you are removed from the hustle and bustle of regular city life and are forced to rethink how you spend your days, you realize all the small things that pass you by. My already relaxed viewing of the landscape there is further enhanced by the  ocean sounds and visual rhythms.  

 When I travel now, I  give the landscape my undivided attention.  On a boat trip  last summer up Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park, NL,  I was instantly in tune with the landscape around me. A fjord is certainly a structure that makes you feel enveloped by water and land.  Here are some of the shots from this trip and the art work that was created in the weeks following my return to my studio by the ocean.

To get to Western Brook Pond you have to hike in for about half an hour on a very well maintained trail.  The scenery is stunning and although the terrain is flat it is visually interesting. When you look over this small  bridge into the water  your imagination gets the better of you. 

 Slow Drift (2012)  6x8 in.  encaustic monotype on board

Looking to the land ( 2012)  2 (3.5 in x 7.5 in.) encaustic  monotype

If I were standing in the pond looking toward the landscape this is what I imagined it would look like. You may notice that my composition of choice in may of these pieces allows the scene to run off the page.  This is intentional because I had the feeling of a landscape exploding around me and running on forever.

 
Looking back from the boat you see a merging of land and water.  The water is deep here and even on a sunny day the water remains dark and somewhat ominous.  

 Merge (2012)  3 (3.5 in x 7.5 in.) encaustic  monotype

Immersion (2012)  3 (3.5 in x 7.5 in.) encaustic  monotype

What if you were in the water looking up?

And there are so many more to show...

Creative outlet - original art cards

 My latest creative diversion is making cards using cut offs from encaustic monotypes I created this summer and fall.   What fun I had experimenting with new encaustic colours I purchased at the  International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown , June 2012.  I  also had a new supply of all sorts of  papers suitable for pulling prints from melted encaustic.  Combine new materials with a beautiful view of the sea and meadows, a gentle breeze through open windows, and hours of free time and your head gets in a very creative space.

 I worked for days and saved everything I created.  While much of it was gallery worthy some of it was not.  Those pieces got sorted into one pile and then I went to work with the paper cutter.  Viola... Lots of cards for personal use and gifts for friends and relatives.

 I had thought about marketing the cards, but pricing is a real issue because the work on them is original.  If I matted one of the smaller ones  3 1/2 x 5 in. and sold it I would want at least $75.00.  Put it on a card and I can't see asking any more than $20 because it is a card.  The work is created in series so there is some coherency to it. 

 Ocean patterns

 Swirl

Dew in the meadow 

And there's so much more to show.....

 Have you ever sold cards with original work?  If so, please let me know how you handled the pricing.

Encaustic monotype video

As you can see from previous posts here and here, one of my favourite uses of encaustic paint is to create monotypes .  I just came across this  video  which is a fine tutorial  by Kathryn Bevier using Enkaustikos encaustics..If you haven't tried encasutic printmaking this would be a great introduction to this versatile medium.   I hope you enjoy it.

An approach to painting sides

 I've made my decisions about how to paint the sides of the cradled panels I mounted my recent encaustic monotypes on.  I

 This is one of a series of four

 

Getting ready to go 

 First I mixed a darker grayed purple and painted the sides.  When it dried it was more purple than I wanted and looked harsh with the greens.  

Added gray but it was difficult to cut the purple so I had to take another approach.

Then I mixed neutral gray with a tad of purple and got a gray with a purple undertone right).  I mixed this with lots of gloss medium and brushed it on over the original purple to get a much more grayed effect that I found pleasing.

 The colour match was good but there's something about all that purple that detracts from the image. Now I'm thinking it needs to be even grayer.  I'm letting it rest for awhile.  Of course when it is hung on the wall the edges aren't as obvious.

 One from the second series all with the same colour scheme.

 

 First I mixed a cadmium red light toned a bit for the edges and painted them all. Garish!!

 Then I mixed a match for the blue green and painted all the sides.  Better than the orange but it was still too bright. So I tried the same approach with this lot.  I used a neutral gray and added a bit of cobalt turquoise to it (left below) .

 

You can see the difference in the two colours . The grayed one is much less distracting.

 I'm wondering if I should just mix the gray with a slight undertone of the dominant colour and be done with it. Any amount of the dominant colour appears too bold when it dries.   The sides would  then all be some version of gray.   What do you think?