Stamping to create pattern in encaustic

2010 Tangled,  Sorted, Revealed, Woven (8 x 8 in.) mixed media encaustic

Decorative patterning is a motif in much of my work even when the work isn't about patterning. 

I use various techniques to build up patterns in encaustic. To date fabrics and papers were my favoured materials. My latest explorations involve creating and using stamps.  The previous post shows stamps I created from embossed paintable wallpaper samples.    Right now I developing a "store" of these papers to use in later compositions.  So I am free to play to my heart's delight.

 Positive Stamping

1. Create a background surface using basic monotype  techniques in encaustic (see youtube video in previous post)
2. Use part of palette to lay down a bed of coloured encaustic to dip the stamp in.
3. Place paper on hot palette. 
4. Take up encaustic on stamp and then stamp it onto the prepared paper. The paper has to be on the palette  If you try to do it on the table the encaustic will dry before you get it to the paper.

Stamp used

 Stamping with similar colour as background at top.  At bottom you can see the faint traces of stamping with white.  I like the subtle nature of this.

 High contrast

 Decorative overlay in gold over a vibrant monotype

A new stamp

 Stamped in gold over a ghost print made with  cadmium red and bits of blue.  I then hand painted more blue between the gold stamping and greatly modified the original design.  This has possibilities because I am modifying/changing the original into my own interpretation.  Doing this in repeats (layers) creates a totally new design. This is a technique I use in acrylic when I start with an image transfer.

 More over stamping using gold.

A new stamp

 Over stamping a previous print

Negative Stamping

1. Lay down a bed of encaustic on palette.
2. Place stamp into the bed of colour (encaustic will be stamped with the pattern removing some of it)
   
3. Take a print from the palette.
   

Stamp seems to be on the missing list!

you can see that the stamp removes the encaustic from the plate in a very interesting way leaving an outline of white around it.  I've just begun to play with the possibilities of negative stamping.  Stay tuned for more adventures.

Against the background

Trees fascinate me and it is a life long fascination. I've written about their draw in previous posts and why they interest me. In the last several years I've been photographing them non- stop. In a recent re-sort of my photographs, I found interesting patterns in design and intent that I'm considering for future work. I ended my last series with a tree and the need to explore this image continues. I don't know where it is all headed but writing about it will probably help move my thinking along.

In the following photographs I like the appearance of the branches against the background. The graphic quality of line against blue appeals to my interest in patterning. The look is overall "flat" - one of qualities of pattern and decoration painting. As I look at them, I instantly knock out details and go immediately to the aspect of the composition that interests me. The textural elements are subtle and if I were to use these images for inspiration, my resulting work would downplay that aspect. I'm thinking about the tree as pattern .

The bordering of the trees at the top and side is delicate and exquisite. It is alluring enough to carry a whole composition or at least it would be interesting to try breaking all those rules and leave a gaping hole of blue in the middle.

The division of space by naturally occurring elements is often so perfect that you could never hope to come up with a better composition. In this shot, it is the main branches and their starkness against the sky that pulls me in. my mind instantly deletes the leaves.

My orientation has changed. Looking through now rather than up and seeing the tangle of branches. This reminds me of the garden series where I began with a very integrate design and continued to erode details until I achieved what looked like a very integrate natural pattern that was totally contrived on my part.

Again looking through and seeing a city beyond nature - a very interesting concept. Most cities need to push nature aside as much as possible to make way for life boxes of a different kind.

Change in orientation again, this time looking down and the background is water.

Freedom written by a branch.

Beautiful but not graphic enough. Nature has gone too far with this pattern and there's nothing left for me to interpret.

I'm still not there yet, but there is a glimmer of my next work. I'll keep sorting and resorting my photographs and looking for patterns in more ways than one. I know the answer is in there somewhere.