Painting On

In praise of red

2012-02-13T20:49:00.002-03:30

Are you attracted to red in art work? I find it impossible to ignore red in any kind of design. It is even more attractive to me when used in abstract or non - representational work. When a work has little or no recognizable content, we automatically notice the element that has the most contrast. Red is bold and grabs attention.

All of the works below have a neutral palette (mostly grays and black) with a splash of red that creates an invigorating composition. You may already be familiar with some of these artists, but I hope you find at least one that is new to you.

Mary Ann Wakeley | mawakeley - Variation on a Theme. On birch plywood, 30x30”

Fiona Watson, Flight Paths. etching , 50 x 50 cm on 310 g Hahnemuhle paper

Judy Pfaff, ''Year of the Dog #6,'' 2009, woodblock, collage, painting, 39 7/8 x 87 1/8''.

Günter Ludwig, “Traces”, mixed media

Yves Cheval , Sans Titre. Huile sur Bois 100x100 cm, Source

Yves Cheval, Sans Titre, Source

Source

miniprint 005 by Bea Mahan, Source

Odilon Redon

Revealed – 60″ x 36″ by Nancy Eckels, Source

This week I am taken with the work of Yves Cheval. There are lots of secrets revealed in his work when you have a closer look. I'm always pulled in to work with subtle layers.

Using bold mark making

2012-02-09T10:29:00.000-03:30

It's interesting that artists are often attracted to work that does not look like their own in any way. I've often thought about that and wonder what people would think if they saw a collection of all the art that I love. There's absolutely no coherency in the lot.

I've started several collections of work on Pinterest and Tumblr that I continue to add to . Lately I've been adding examples of works that have very strong mark making qualities and little colour.All the work approaches non- representational. The other characteristic that is evident is the various forms of layering used. What are your thoughts about these works?

Source: elizabethbunsen.tumblr.com via Designing Home/Margaret Ryall on Pinterest

Source: artthatfits.com via Designing Home/Margaret Ryall on Pinteres

Source: tumblr.com via Designing Home/Margaret Ryall on Pinteres

Source: artpropelled.tumblr.com via Designing Home/Margaret Ryall on Pinterest

Acrylic pours with strappo

2012-01-31T19:50:00.002-03:30

It might seem my post topics are all over the place with me jumping from a new theme to technique, but rest assured it all fits together in my head. Last Saturday I visited friends who were doing day 2 of a strappo workshop I took at Torbay Bight Studio last year. I wrote about it here. I never wrote part 2 as promised and I need to rectify that. In addition, I want to create new pieces using strappo so a refresher is in order.

This is where I left off in the last post. I had pulled the image off the glass plate and applied two coats of gesso and watercolour paper to it in order to stabilize the image. See the white backing below.

Then you sandwich this work between parchment paper and cover with a board and heavy object to let it dry. It has to dry for several days to be sure all moisture is gone.

I'm now going to change images because I didn't do a pour on the landscape in the previous post.

Tape around the edges of your cradled panel to protect the sides when you do the poor.

Put a layer of gesso on the surface of the support and on the back of the strappo piece. Sandwich the two together and put under weights to dry. Make sure your strappo piece is at least as big as the support. Having a little hanging over the edge of the panel is ideal then you can trim it when the work is complete.

Getting ready to pour

Golden Self Leveling Clear Gel

This product is great for a clear top pour because it is thick and easier to control than other products. It has a high gloss sheen when dry.

Put parchment paper, wax paper or refrigerator paper under the work to catch the drips. It should have a slick surface to allow you to scrape up the drips and save to another bottle for future use as an adhesive. in collage. Returning it to the same bottle may cause problems later ( it might have dried somewhat and shouldn't be mixed with fresh gel).

For ease of application a squirt bottle works well. Don't shake the bottle and transfer it several hours before you are ready to use it to prevent air bubbles. This medium is thick and holds it place as you begin.

Pour in a circular motion.

When you get near the edge stop pouring and begin to tip the board to get the gel to move to the edges.

When the drips become too much, clean up with a palette knife and put back in another bottle.

Wearing gloves helps to keep your hands clean.

Check for level application.

If you have an area near the edge where the gel is thin, apply more. Resist the urge to poke at it with a palette knife ( my specialty).

Dealing with air bubbles

One of the solutions to air bubbles is to stick a pin in them. If you have a lot of bubbles you can try lifting the piece about 6 inches and letting it drop as you would a cake pan. You may think you have all the bubbles, but more can rise to the surface. Check back in 15 - 20 minutes. Another solution is to put isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle and mist the top of the gel while still wet. you can repeat this more than once.

It will take several days for your project to dry.

Additional pouring tips

use a level to to check your table. If your table is off, your pour will not be evenly distributed.
use a makeshift dome (paper, fabric or a large plastic container with air holes in the sides to keep dust and falling debris off the work surface
If you have a lot of pieces or a large piece, make sure the room is properly vented. Gels contain ammonia which evaporates as the piece dries.

Other Golden pouring mediums

GAC 800 - works well when tinted with paint because it has a hazy surface when used alone

GAC 500- thinnest levelling product that has little tack when dry; it is best used when creating poured acrylic skins.

Clear Tar Gel - by far the thickest pouring gel. It is best used if you want to pour lines on top of a work by dripping from a palette knife. You can thin it up to 1 part water and 3 parts gel.

More ideas

2012-01-30T19:14:00.001-03:30

Branching

dividing, separating, forking, partitioning, splitting

Onward

2012-01-27T15:47:00.002-03:30

Bear with me. I'm working out how the idea of branching is going to play out in my new work.

My last post included inspiration shots of what other artists have done with the idea of branching. Now it's time for me to start narrowing things down. One of the ways I do that is to list all the possible ways to go and then begin to whittle them down to something I am interested in. Then I go through my photos to see if there's anything there to prompt me. My own photos or photos of family history make it personal. I usually find I have been attracted to ideas before I label them.That's what happened with my wallpaper and object work in the Remnants series.

I started with these documentation photos I received from a relative. They that were taken of the homes in Argentia, a community where my father's family lived. They were resettled into neighbouring communities when a US Naval Base was scheduled for construction on the site of their town. Newfoundland had three US bases in its history.

Apart from the aching sadness I feel for all the families, one of the things that hits me in the photographs are all the fences that direct the flow of foot traffic and keep people out or animals in. I was surprised by how prominent fences were in a place that was described to me in very idyllic terms from the time I could walk and talk. How sad that all this marking of territory was for naught because they lost it all in the end , and received an embarrassingly small sum for their properties.

fences divide in different directions

One house , two branches of a family

one branch of a family often lived in close proximity to another

a business branching out

branching fences to protect livestock

the prominent use of tree branches for fencing and firewood (protection)

How Argentia looked in my father's day.

The main runway and side arteries branching from it that provided the new boundaries for this once fishing community.. My family lived around the pond that can be see at the upper left.

I have no idea who the original photographer of these photos was but I give credit for capturing a dying community.

Perhaps all of this isn't really about branching at all , but, rather, one idea branching into another. So it goes.

Branching

2012-01-23T22:40:00.002-03:30

Do you notice trees or are they just a backdrop in your life ? I've had a long standing love affair with trees since childhood because our house was next to a lovely wood that ran down to the sea and trees were my playing field.

Lying in a hospital bed for a week provides ample opportunity to think and you try to focus those thoughts in a positive way. When I want to relax I visualize trees but that led to branches, branching and what's going on in my head. You know how things keep connecting in an artist's mind. That was a good thing in the end because I have a new series pushing its way to the surface. It's all just tickling the surface to get out, but in the meantime here are some inspiration photos that relate to the idea of branching. I'm considering it in the broadest way.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal ForMemRS (1 May 1852 – 17 October 1934) was a Spanish pathologist, histologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel laureate. This is exquisite mark making.

Artist unknown

Another totally different kind of branching. Such detail leads me back to the marks of the passage of time.

Fubiz

The quietness of this work interests me greatly. The composition provides a feeling of protection.

Charles Grogg, Subterraneous
gelatin silver print
20x24

Another way to think about taking root!

Linda Vachon, pot de fleurs

This work reminds me of encuastic with that soft haze that can be built up with encaustic medium and image transfers.

Asha Robertson Raven
22"x24"
Acrylic, paper, fabric, and encaustic, on board

Robertson explores themes of collective memory, time travel, human impact on the land and nature’s ability to reclaim with time .

Andrew Wreach, 2009 , Democritus, archival ink jet print, 70 x 40 in.

Can closed shapes branch? Can't make up my mind if it reminds me of cells or a view from an airplane. I am attracted to the colour scheme which makes the whole piece look florescent and glowing.

English Wilderness

Love the lacy intricacy of this. I'm getting ideas.

and guess what this is?

What does branching mean to you?

Passing time

2012-01-20T16:24:00.000-03:30

What can you do when your vision is impaired?

I'm finding out. As an artist, having vision problems is pretty frustrating and humbling. My current condition prevents me from going out, reading or typing except with one eye closed, and even walking within the house is disorienting. I'm coming close to having my vertical double vision "adjusted". Why it's double is still part of my medical mystery. Tuesday won't come soon enough. I only hope those prisms work. In the meantime, I am typing this with one eye closed, so your eyes won't get tired by the length of the post.

I've discovered audio books but they put me to sleep! That's a good tip for insomniacs. I can view pictures on my I Pad if it is my lap without too much distortion. I'm so glad I found Pinterest and set it up before I ended up in hospital. It is a great diversion and I'm finding lots of artist whose blogs I follow. My boards are quite varied because of my dual careers. You have to wade around to find the art. If you haven't checked out Pinterest already here's the link to my boards. If you are using Pinterest I would love to follow you.

Dragging in encaustic monotype

2012-01-12T18:53:00.000-03:30

Dragging is an interesting technique in encaustic monotype.

apply a design to the hot palette ( I use Rand F palette) using pigmented encaustic ( I use R and F)
place your paper on top of the design and use a barren to ensure all the encaustic is absorbed into the paper; experiment with various types of paper
take two corners of the paper and drag the paper in a circular motion. It is a very random act and you don't know what will happen to the original design. It is also interesting to drag vertically or horizontally or in partial circles.
clean your palette and apply a second colour in places ( I like metallics for this step) and place the same print down again to pick up a second layer by dragging
repeat this step several times adding more visual information to the original monotype.

The meaning of new year

2012-01-06T15:49:00.001-03:30

The new year is upon us and that brings thoughts of what will be different in 2012. I had a little more time to contemplate this than I wanted because I ended up in hospital on December 28 and just got home yesterday. When your lifestyle is threatened and there are more questions about your health than there are answers, you quickly line up your priorities. Right now, among other things, I have double vision (cause unknown for a little while longer) so I am typing with one eye closed. That only lasts so long and you get a violent headache. It's also a great excuse for bad editing; it's the only up side I can find in all of this.

I was relieved to find out I did not have a stroke (original diagnosis for 6 days) nor do I have a brain tumor thanks to an MRI yesterday. Pretty sobering when they were on the table. More tests are upcoming. In the meantime not much blogging or painting will happen. My life is thinking, talking and listening to audio books (which I found out I love and didn't think I would ). My balance is the pits so moving about is minimal. I am not very good at this but I'm learning. Right now I'm thinking about a new computer.

A little computer advice needed
I am thinking of buying an I Mac. My husband just joked that I have an I pod, I pad, I phone and "I "patch so I need to line up my computer accordingly.

Are any of you currently working on blogger and using a Mac? Are you having any problems? I don't want to have to learn a whole pile of new stuff or spend time problem solving. I have two blogs and would not have the patience for glitches.

Are there other things I need to consider before changing from PC?

Putting sparkle in Christmas

2011-12-24T12:27:00.001-03:30

Merry Christmas from my house to yours. Take a virtual visit on my design blog.

Stamping to create pattern in encaustic

2011-12-19T11:50:00.001-03:30

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

Create a background surface using basic monotype techniques in encaustic (see youtube video in previous post)
Use part of palette to lay down a bed of coloured encaustic to dip the stamp in.
Place paper on hot palette.
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

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

Creating stamps for encaustic monotypes

2011-12-16T20:26:00.000-03:30

I recently created stamps for encaustic monotype by gluing textured paintable wallpaper onto sealed MDF and then ealed the paper with 4 coats of GAC 700 (just what I had on hand).

Some of my stash I managed to snag from a local home decor shop. It was a discontinued wallpaper sample book. I knew it would come in handy.

Some of these worked quite well and some were a total wash out. It all had to do with how evenly the design was raised. It there were varying levels within the design you only captured the high points. DUH! I should have know that.

This is the one I was most excited about and it was absolutely hopeless as you can see from the bit of silver encaustic it picked up when I tipped it into a puddle of encaustic on the hot palette.

Even though this one didn't work as I expected it created a very interesting linear design over the original pattern I created. I'd call it a success.

This one got quite a bit of use as you can see from the colours that are layered. One thing you need to know about stamps you use in encaustic monotype - it is very hard to remove the colour from them. If I laid this one on the hot palette some of the encaustic would melt off and I could continue to melt and blot but that's about it. On the up side the colour interaction brings an unexpected element to the work. It's kind of nice not being able to control everything.

I loved the old world charm of this one. It fits perfectly with my focus on wallpapers of the past.

Interesting random effect on this one, but I didn't like theblob at the left. Next time I would look more carefully at the pattern now that I know what happens.

I decided to see what happened when I used glued paper onto a paper towel roll. It worked well but it needed handles to keep your hands out of the hot encaustic. Further thought needed....

And these two were perfect and got used both separately and in a layered fashion.

This one is pristine up to this point, but I anticipate it will be a good one. Stay tuned.

One thing I would do differently next time is create stamps larger than 4 x 4. Rectangular one of 4 x 81/2 would be perfect.

My next post will feature the work I created with these stamps.

Encaustic monotypes -Putting it together

2011-12-14T20:59:00.000-03:30

Why invent the boat when there are so many great illustrations out there? It never occurred to me to check out the famous YouTube option before I started to write these posts on encaustic printmaking. A picture is worth a thousand words so here are the pictures.....

This is a good introduction to the basic approach to encaustic monotype using a hot box (which I don't have but may acquire). I couldn't embed it in the text; here's the link.

A similar video by R& F demonstrates various techniques I talked about in my previous post. The 16 inch palette show is the one I like to use.

Encaustic Printmaking

2011-12-09T19:46:00.000-03:30

My interest in encaustic printmaking was prompted by several presentations I attended at the 2010 International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown, NJ. These sessions gave me a sense of what's possible, but you really get a handle on it when you start to create yourself. It is one fantastic freeing activity. The range of effects you can create is quite broad. I am interested in the process not to create finished prints but to create "papers" that I can later collage into my mixed media encaustic works.

I use the aluminum palette available from R&F Paints. You set the temperature at roughly 165 degrees and clear everything off the palette.You are not limited by the size of the palette because you can use a spot printing technique.You also don't have to fuse with a heat gun because you are working with the paper directly onto the palette and the encaustic is heated/fused as you go.

Encaustic ( beeswax, damar resin, pigment) in a solid form is used to apply colour to the "plate"/palette causing it to melt on contact. You can lay down bold bands of colour, draw and use subtractive approaches e.g., wipeout, use stencils, masks or stamps and build images in multiple layers. Overprinting produces layered depth.and you can also draw on the print with a variety of mediums like oil pastel, graphite, charcoal etc. Clear encaustic medium can be used to make thinner paper translucent which is a technique I am attracted to because it allows light to show through the paper. This is most effective when you have lots of white spaces/paper showing through This is highly desirable when you want to use the papers in mixed media work.

Once created the prints are easy to handle and store because the wax is absorbed in the paper and they can even be rolled. So here's a sampling of what I produced. Unfortunately I did not take step by step photos of my day. I will create a tutorial at a later date.

Wipe Out

I began by messing about with wiping out using different tools. You begin by laying down a bed of encaustic on the palette using any pattern you want. I like to keep to 3 or less. Once that's done you can wipe out to create patterns in the colour. You can use all kinds of implements to wipe out - commercial wipe out tools, credit cards, foam core, slivers of erasers, wheels of toy cars, rotary wheels, make up applicators, silicone brushes from the kitchen, bottle caps, cookie cutters, etc. Each makes its own distinctive mark. I learned you have to constantly wipe your wipe out tool or you get a lot of colour transfer. Of course, sometimes this is just what the doctor ordered.

Wipe Out and Stamping

Layered print, purple is simple pick up ghost print (what was left on the palette after taking one print)with some wiping out with an eraser. Second (yellow) was created with a stamp made by gluing textured wallpaper onto an MDF block and pressing it into a yellow puddle of encaustic and stamping onto the first layer (paper is on the palette when you do this). It worked like a charm.

Stamping Positive and Negative

Level 1: A ghost image (background colour) from a previous print picked up on sumi paper. Then the circles were applied by laying bubble wrap into a paint puddle and then over printing the ghost image

This is a print of what was left on the palette after the previous print was made. The bottom is over printing done in the same way as the previous print. I'm not claiming this is great art... but I now know how to achieve certain effects and I'm very excited about tearing these into different pieces and using them in an encaustic painting.

More complex prints still using bubble wrap to stamp the paper . You can see over stamping with silver on the top one.

The final one is showing a little more finess in the use of the bubble wrap. I guess you could call these layered monotypes because there will only be one created.

There's more to come from my initial session. I'm feeling quite liberated by these processes and can't wait to create more work.

Christmas art

2011-12-06T09:15:00.001-03:30

My exhibition in Nova Scotia is in the past and I am into the thick of what Christmas is in my home. If the title sounds like I am busy creating Christmas art nothing could be further from the truth. This time of year I am all about family and getting my house in a festive mode. You can see my latest simple decorating ideas at my Designing Home blog. I'm queen of spray paint and recycling this year.

I don't see the studio in December, unless I'm making cards or wrapping gifts.While not actively creating, I'm percolating. I spent a day doing encaustic monotypes at Torbay Bight Studio and I have lots of samples to photograph when I get a minute to set it up. These will be fodder for new encaustic mixed media works. I'm excited about the prospects. More on this later.

An exhibition like no other

2011-11-29T09:50:00.000-03:30

We remember things for a variety of reasons and my exhibition at St. FX University Gallery in Antigonish, Nova Scotia will go down in memory as my most unique one -not soon forgotten. It went like this...

After settling in at the B & B, Don and I went to the gallery to reattach one of the wax castings that had broken free in shipping. The work looked very comfortable in the setting because it was a relatively small space with lots of nooks to meander around. Because of its intimate scale my work would look absolutely lonely in a spacious gallery. I was impressed with the consideration given to the placement of the work.

I left feeling good and greatly anticipating the next evening.It was time to take in the sights of Antigonish and have a relaxing dinner. The next morning all the chatter about town was of the upcoming snow storm. Now I'm a planner and I checked the weather before leaving St. John's and packed accordingly. My suede slip ons were not going to cut it, and we spent that morning shopping for boots! By mid afternoon the writing was on the wall.

We tried to get a taxi rather than take our rental car with no snow tires. Unfortunately we couldn't get one and started for the University. It was slow going and somewhat foolhardy on our part. We didn't really have to worry about where we parked. The lot was empty

This doesn't look too promising.

But everything was ready inside.

Bruce Campbell (Gallery Director) and Don are being encouraging.

I've decided that wine is the answer.

Our first guests show up. Thankfully students don't mind the weather and these two had lots of questions and comments about the work. I'm engaged.

After half an hour passed we had several more students who happened to be passing by and were encouraged to come in, take a look, and have a snack. At this point I'm laughing and having a great time. Perhaps it's the wine.

Our next visitor shows up. This is hilarious.

Not to be outdone, Santa's elves wanted in on the action. Yes, all maritime elves are this spritely.

I would like to think that Don is admiring my work.

This doesn't look so promising. I was right. We spent about ten minutes getting out of the parking lot. With the skidding that went down I'm surprised the tires were in one piece. Going at 20 km. an hour we breathed a sigh of relief as we neared the B & B, ....

It was picture perfect, but the driveway wasn't plowed. I was elected to walk through the drifts in my new $25.00 boots to get some action. The innkeeper solve the problem quickly.

Soon we were nestled in our Victorian room and reliving the night's events. The story doesn't end there. After waiting at the airport in Halifax the next day for five hours, five minutes before loading the flight was cancelled because of St. John's weather. Time to look for a hotel .

Do you have and exciting exhibition story?

On the road again

2011-11-21T19:20:00.001-03:30

On Tuesday my husband and I fly into Halifax and rent a car for our journey to Antigonish, Nova Scotia where my Remnants exhibition is slated to open. We are looking forward to our brief little holiday and seeing my work in a new temporary home. I find every gallery different and the work exists in different ways in each space. My trusty camera is packed so I should come back with a glimpse of the show. Until Friday ... I'm away.

Part of the exhibition as it appeared at the Leyton Gallery in St. John's, NL in 2008. ? concerning St. FX University Art Gallery show, but stay tuned. Remnants keeps growing as I re-interpret the wallpapers and objects I've collected.

Redefined - Hinge

2011-11-18T18:07:00.001-03:30

My latest work is a reexamination of objects that I used in a body of work three years ago. Many of them were picked up at the sight of an old family building which has long fallen into the ground and disappeared. Only rusted metal and rotting boards are left. The hinge and wallpaper in the piece below reference the separate male/female worlds of work prevalent in the fifties and sixties when I was growing up. Like the eroding wallpaper and hinge things are changing in that arena.

Wallpaper with Hinge (2008) 26 x 14 in. Mixed media on board

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Art Bank Collection

Redefined - Hinge ( 2011) 16 x 16 in. Mixed media on board

My new work is leaving the realm of male female roles and work behind as I study the object themselves and how they relate to the interior and exterior landscape. This piece has different characteristics than the other two pieces from Redefined I recently wrote about. The hinge is not integrated into the background, rather it hovers like some kind of alien ship. No matter how much I tried to give it an embedded feel it didn't work out. I stopped trying and listened to the painting.

Redefined again

2011-11-16T14:36:00.001-03:30

Here's more work from my Redefined series which is a small subset of a larger body of work titled Remnants . If you've read previous posts you will know that I am reworking imagery that I felt didn't live up to my initial expectations. I am pleased with my new take on previous work.

Untitled , (2010)16 x 16in. mixed media on canvas

Redefined - Barrel (2011) 16 x 16 in. mixed media on board

What did you notice when you compared my first and second attempt?

Marlene Creates: Connections

2011-11-12T10:35:00.001-03:30

Larch, Spruce, Fir, Birch, Hand,Blast Hole Pond Road (2007–) Marlene Creates

black & white photographs, selenium-toned silver prints,.10½ x 15½ inches,

collection: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Provincial Art Bank.

Marlene Creates is a well known Canadian artist who has inspired me in many ways through her friendship and professional knowledge. We first met on the board of directors of Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador and later served for three years as Co Chairs of the organization.

I remember when Marlene shared her initial thoughts about a new art project - a boreal poetry garden. At the time I was exploring the meaning of gardens and the idea of a poetry garden was very appealing. I've admired her dogged determination to create the Boreal Poetry Garden through physical labour and inspiration. Now the project is in full swing I've attended several of Marlene's initial readings and I even get a mention in one of her poems. A recent article in Canadian Art gives a good overview of her recent work which has moved from the gallery into the landscape itself. Hope you enjoy how words and woods go together.

Redefined

2011-11-08T21:00:00.001-03:30

My life is just a little too exciting these days. My mother is recovering from knee replacement surgery; we just heralded the arrival of our third granddaughter; and, I'm packing works for my solo exhibition in Nova Scotia. All of these events prompted me to think about how our lives are constantly being redefined by our life experiences. Nothing ever stays the same and sometimes I wish it just would because change is difficult to accommodate when you are busy.

The focus of my newer Remnants paintings that I'm sending to the exhibition explore how time affects our perceptions of events/objects related to them, and how the objects themselves are redefined as time passes. I've showed some of these paintings before but I'm reworking the ideas and compositions in several of them and I think the new attempts are much better than the first ones. That is probably because I have a better feel for what I'm doing/saying in the work. So the painting content and compositions are also being redefined!

Untitled ( 2010) 16 x 16 in. Mixed media ( image transfers, acrylic paint, paper and mediums )

on canvas

While I loved this work when I created it in 2010, the more I look at it the less successful it appears. Now I see it as a little static and contrived. Yes, I did a great job of combining interior landscapes (wallpapers from old houses) with exterior ones (a family dory like the ones used in my childhood), but I am forcing the idea of landscape. It's difficult to decide if this is about the object (dory) or if is it about the landscape itself. There's also the female/male connections from my growing up.

Redefined - Dory (2011) 16 x 16 in. Mixed media ( image transfers, acrylic paint, paper and mediums ) on canvas

This is one of the new paintings included in the exhibition. It is much more abstracted and collisional than the first one. I love the parts that are totally abstract and the combination of real objects in decay within a dual environment -a collision of "male and female". As usual my photography is lacking because it does not capture the layers of information that well.

If you have thoughts on these two pieces and where I'm headed in my new work, I'd love to hear them.

A growth experience

2011-11-01T14:25:00.003-02:30

I never know how an experience will influence my art. It is usually long after an event that bits and pieces creep into a work. Some experiences cause me to think about how I see art and my art practice. I recently had an opportunity to think about mine.

Have you ever been interviewed about your art practice? Recently Jeanette Jobson, a local artist, asked me if I would be her focus artist for her October newsletter. Having read most of the other interviews in her previous newsletters I thought it would be "a growth experience". It was. The questions were varied and required lots of thought on my part. Isn't it always difficult to grasp those wispy thoughts and shape them into something cohesive?

Me at one of the four corners of the world (according to the Flat Earth Society)

Fogo, Newfoundland, 2011

Check out Jeanette's October Newsletter here and get to know me a little more. Was there anything surprising ?

Surfacing

2011-10-27T17:06:00.001-02:30

I wish I could feel like I was surfacing, but instead I'm totally immersed in getting work packed up to send to Nova Scotia for a solo show at St. Francis Xavier University Art Gallery. Remnants opens on November 23 and I plan to travel for the opening. An hour and a half plane trip and then roughly a two hour drive will get me to Antigonish which is a beautiful town. I'm sure it will be exciting. Needless to say not very much new work is being created with all this sorting and packing happening.

This is the last of the pieces I created at my two day paint in several weeks ago. It belongs to the Surfacing series presented in the last post. You'll see many similarities.

2011 (6x6 in. ) mixed media encaustic on board

6 little gems

2011-10-21T19:09:00.000-02:30

Here's more work from my encaustic paint- in several weeks ago. On and off I've been working on a small series of paintings called Surfacing. The aesthetic is definitely influenced by my stay in Venice several years ago; I can't seem to get the colours and textures out of my mind. They keep re-surfacing at odd times in my work so I decided to go for it. The text you see in several of these is tissue thin and of course purchased in Venice. I plan to mount them side by side on one long narrow panel and then frame it.

2011 (6 x 8 in). encaustic mixed media on board

I'm in my gold stage!

Transending materials

2011-10-15T12:02:00.003-02:30

I recently spent two full days at an encaustic open studio at Torbay Bight Studio and had a very productive time. I was just back from holiday and my mind was all over the place, so I went into the two days giving myself permission to do whatever struck my fancy. I had decided not to severely edit my work while creating. The editing came when I laid it all out about a week later. Some interesting things came to light.

Encaustic is a very accessible medium and it is easy to "play" with it. That is both a strength and a weakness as far as I'm concerned. I noticed that about half the pieces I created entailed layering materials and the pieces didn't move beyond that; I put them in the category of arranging materials. They will never transcend their parts (but they look pretty). The other half were very similar in aesthetic, but they have moved beyond to that place where they are art pieces in their own right. There is little continuity in theme/content because they were all experimental.

Below are five pieces, I feel some of them work and some don't . What's your take?

Beachcombing

2011-10-09T22:58:00.000-02:30

Walking a beach is a form of meditation for me. The crunch of sliding rocks and the movement of water is soothing and predictable. The ebb and flow is like nature's clock marking the passage of time. It shouldn't be any surprise that I find inspiration for my work in such a space. You never know what the beach will throw back to us. I'm use to the high winds in Newfoundland that send all sorts of debris to be examined and sorted. The beaches of Devon are a gentler sort and very clean. I couldn't believe this is all I found that was noteworthy after prowling for half an hour. The blue comb made it all worthwhile. The ultimate beachcombing find.

Sometimes beachcombing results in a painting....

Life Continues (2009) 12 x 24 mixed media on panel, M. Ryall

The long view

2011-10-05T09:51:00.000-02:30

How you frame a photo gives you insight into compositions that interest you. I would love to say I take all kinds of time setting up shots and giving conscious thought to why I'm framing in a certain way, but it would be a bold faced lie. I put the camera up and snap in a second or two; it all boils down to impatience. It's only after I get home that things start to make any sense for me as I analyze what I've taken. I think we are attracted to things unconsciously and patterns are only revealed at a later date. Alas, photography is only fodder for my painting.

Here's a collection from beautiful Devon I've put together for your perusal and comment.

Hope you 're not leaving without your say.

It's about line

2011-10-04T17:13:00.003-02:30

When something stays in your mind you know it made an impression. I remembered these lamps from my previous trip to Lyme Regis in Dorset , UK. This time I made sure I took a good photo and the fact it was foggy enhanced the shot.

In a previous post I said I didn't know what impact this trip would have on my art work and I still don't but I'm getting an inkling that it has to do with line. When I went through the photos I took, line is jumping out. More on this later....

The new landscape

2011-10-01T09:21:00.000-02:30

Guess the mystery material for this very abstract work.

My eyes always wander once I've had a good close up look at something.

I shot this in Berlin. It seemed appropriate with my I Pad weighing down my shoulder bag while I looked at remnants of the Berlin wall in Potsdamer Platz. The unusual material for the abstract work is on the wall.

Linking to Landscape

2011-09-28T09:00:00.000-02:30

I'm a wanna be landscape artist who never seems to paint landscapes unless they are close up versions of what I see. I'm talking about the sprawling distance that can be captured so well by many artists. I've certainly connected to landscape and landscape artists, but so far it's all just fuel for the old creative juices. One of these days I know something will come out of all this looking and thinking, but as of yet there's nothing that I want to show. On to the artist of the day...

Beached Boats, Mixed media, 14 x 22.5 in.

Harbour Cottages Cornwall, Mixed media , 15 x 19.5in

Devon landscape seems to ignite the imagination of many artists who respond to it in diverse ways. Installment 2 in my Devon landscape series highlights Mike Bernard whose work I also saw at Marine House at Beer for the second time. His collage painting style using paper cuttings attracted me because it uses elements similar to my own technique. Layers and texture immediately draw me in. His paper applications appear to be used to create an overall structure for the composition and then he paints into it using various levels of detail. I enjoy his work that is more abstracted with less colour, where texture and subtle hints tell the story. These quick introduction gives you a sense of his work.

Morning Grand Canal, Venice , Mixed media, 18 x 24 in.

Venetian Doorway, Mixed media, 15 x 17 in.

Venice, my favourite city in the world which is currently being challenged by Prague, also offers great subject matter for his work. If you're interested there's a short YouTube video about this series.

Feeling like getting away from it all to paint? Mike Bernard also offers self catering cottages at Nutcombe and there's a studio. This is news for me. Oh the missed opportunities from my past two visits to Devon. I'm feeling a holiday coming up.....

And last but not least, I've enjoyed reading his book available at Amazon.

Hopefully, I've written about something that strikes your fancy. Let me know.

Thinking landscape

2011-09-22T15:22:00.000-02:30

Our month in Europe passed quickly and I've see lots of interesting art, people, landscape, shows, houses, decor and heavens knows what else. It is all up in my head in a gigantic jumble that will right itself when I have enough time to download and sort all my photographs. There will be many posts to come describing my new inspirations.

For now I have to focus on something so I chose some of the last art work I saw in Beer, Devon at Marine House Gallery .Driving through this beautiful countryside and walking about in the fairytale perfect towns helps you understand why landscape is the most prominent content for many English artists.

Tinners' Coast , Collage on canvas, 39 x 39in.

Botallack, Acrylic on paper, 14 x 15 in.

Martin Procter is one artist whose work I liked. He appears to be interested in man's imprint on the landscape through walls, buildings, field boundaries, and industrial architecture and represents these themes through mostly abstracted imagery. As I surveyed his work certain characteristics were retained from work to work. His most recent works painted during a stay in the US can be found on his website .

Hopi Village, Mixed media on board , 40 x 40 cm.

Kiva, mixed media on board, 40 x 40 cm.

There is a two dimensional quality to his work which is dependent on a strong use of line and colour blocking. His paintings frequently have a vertical segmentation to them, leading the eye in lines up the picture. You can quickly see what he determines are the most important aspects of the landscape. In his work the geology and scale of the natural world is overlaid with man's efforts which often appear minute in scale.

A closer look reveals the inventive use of a variety of media (which is probably why this work appeals to me) . His colour choices can be dramatic and all colour usage produces a solid look by chunking repeated forms together.

This is how one artist in Devon relates to the landscape. Stay tuned for several others. It should be interesting to see the commonalities and differences in their imagery and vocabulary.

Painting on and off

2011-08-22T23:45:00.000-02:30

Focused

It seems I'm about to break my painting focus assumed over the last month. On August 24th we leave for three weeks in Germany and then a week in England. Having visited both countries before I have a good idea of what is in store generally, but each visit brings something new to my life. Travel offers much inspiration for my art. While I never create work while travelling (not even sketching) I take numerous photos. They often end up in mixed media work as image transfers or when sorted at a later date they provide new themes to explore. Every major trip I've taken in the last ten years has resulted in subtle changes in my thinking about the work I create. I can never predict beforehand how I will be affected, but I know I will be. It's like Christmas. You know you'll get a gift but you don't know what. I'm looking forward to a fall of interesting blogging.

Ready to eat it all up!

Stay tuned.

Adrift

2011-08-08T19:08:00.000-02:30

.... in a sea of grass.

Moored.... is this the opposite of adrift ? Perhaps both boats are the same.

Snippets of thoughts as I walk around Keels near my summer house.

Tree portraits

2011-07-18T09:34:00.000-02:30

From the time I could walk trees have been an important part of my life. I've written about this attraction before and it continues. While sorting my tree photos today a number of them seemed to be calling out for recognition. Some of them have appeared before but one of the ways I get inspiration for my work is to regroup photos in new ways . It's the pairings that provide new ways of seeing.

Hope you like my world collection of tree portraits that are longing for titles. Feel free to pitch in with your ideas.

USA (Boston)

Newfoundland (Tickle Cove)

Ireland 1(Birr)

Ireland 2 (Birr)

Ireland 3 (Birr)

Turkey 1 (Ephesus)

Turkey 2

Greece (Rhodes)

Spain (Barcelona)

Painting your way

2011-07-10T22:34:00.000-02:30

When I went to my summer house two weeks ago I was all set to paint my heart out, but I've done a lot of thinking about my new Remnants paintings but not much actual painting. Right now I have four finished. Because I usually start my work with general ideas and a lot of intuition, I let the work lead me. Somewhere around painting 4 or 5, I begin to paint myself into where I need to be.

Talking about my work with other artists has always been helpful to my development. I am very lucky to be able to walk up the road to Catherine's house ....

and request a critique (in the broadest sense). By the end of the day we were drinking tea and chatting about critique in general and my work in particular.

Catherine is Catherine Beaudette who spends her summers in Newfoundland and teaches at Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. I find conversations about my work very helpful if for no other reason than to confirm my understandings at one point in time. Talking about what you are trying to accomplish often brings you to new realizations. Understanding comes as you search for words to express your struggle.

The paintings are becoming less about objects in a distant landscape as the first one was

and more about the objects themselves.

I am zooming in more and more and using more abstract sections to reinforce the texture/feel of the objects. I should have know that I would struggle with representing anything at a distance when I see everything in exquisite detail, so I am back to my objects and what they are telling me about their history/ marks of time. I plan to manipulate scale even more drastically in my upcoming experimentation. I'm using my time back in town to get new image transfers ready. Stay tuned. Unfortunately there are no posts when I only have access to dial up internet. My patience needs to be saved for more important things.

Does fog inspire you?

2011-06-25T09:46:00.001-02:30

Our summer house has been bathed in fog for at least a week. Not one ounce of sun to be seen but there's lots of rain. One would think that being wrapped in a cocoon would provide just the right atmosphere for creating. Nothing could be further than the truth for me. I've been waiting for inspiration to strike for four days, but I am less inclined to create with each passing day. Obviously the weather affects how I create. Not feeling inspired, I decided to spend time making new image transfers for my next interior/exterior landscape. I'm glad to report that went very well and I'm ready to roll when I return. That's right, I escaped it all and made the three hour journey back to the city where I at least have a computer.

Other artists are very inspired by fog as you can see....

Can you identify the artists?

Do you see any similarities?

Thoughts after the encaustic conference

2011-06-15T22:32:00.000-02:30

I've been to all kinds of conferences over the years and I know one thing for sure, you never know what impacts your learning until long after the event has moved off in your memory. Sometimes years later one little thing pops up in your work and you realize it was prompted by something you took in years before. All learning isn't confined to presentations at a conference either. Chats with new friends, sights seen, conversations post session, art work you see and mind ramblings all gel together to create new pathways in your brain. I feel that mine is firing on all cylinders right now from my recent experiences.

There was a great mix of the professional side of an artist's life with the practical hands on aspects of encaustic. Since it was my first conference I didn't participate in the mini art exhibit or the art trade. I wanted to get a feel for the whole thing. Next year will be a different story. That's right, plans are under way for a return visit.

And why wouldn't we plan a trip back when we get to stay in a lovely condo.....

walk on the beach in the early morning....

eat outside in the sun with like minded attendees ....

eat celebratory cake...

attend excellent demos (Image Transfers, Tracy Spadafora)....

and post conference workshops (Mainly Metals, Charyl Weissbach)...

and professional development panels.

On the session side of things I focused on monotypes, image transfers, creating textures, working with metals, stencils and masks. Paper featured prominently in two of the presentations I took in. I also saw a great presentation that demonstrated how to use an iron in encaustic ( I have one ordered). It looked so easy I think it's cheating! I'll have more on these topics later.

Place plays a prominent role in all my learning because its feel through colours, shapes and textures always weaves a subtle web around me and has a profound effect on later artwork. In Cape Cod I loved the weathered wood and the brightly coloured shutters which seem to connect with the riot of colours in the well maintained gardens. The sky was blue the whole time I was there.

And I got to go from the Provincetown ferry to the airport bus stop in a water taxi.... a touch of Venice in Boston.
Signing off for now...

Day 2

2011-06-05T09:20:00.000-02:30

My enthusiasm for blogging is still curtailed by technology and I look forward to getting back to my trusty "real computer" and sharing lots of information that I found resonated with my practice. In the meantime I plan to be resourceful.....

I was thankful to find a long post about yesterday's events by one of the presenters, Nancy Natale, whose blog I regularly follow. I know quality when I see it so I refer you to Nancy's blog, Art in the Studio, which she also talked about as part of the presentation about media yesterday. The link is on my sidebar. You'll have to do a little extra work , but you'll get to see some great links to other artists who work in encaustic as a payoff for your efforts.

Yes, this is going down as the laziest post ever! Every time I cut and paste a link it isn't active. More learnning required.

Day 1

2011-06-03T21:16:00.001-02:30

Carol and I rolled into Provincetown this morning for day one of the encaustic conference. We are staying in the next community and driving back and forth. We debated walking but decided it was too far. We spent the whole afternoon attending a session on encaustic monotype. I've spent time doing monotype in oils early in my career and I was curious to see the parallels. There were many and that knowledge will help me extend my explorations in this medium in the future.

I enjoyed the three presenters who had very different ways of working. As in most conferences you take bits and pieces from everything you hear and make it your own. I would love to be considered a great blogger and provide lots od pics, but I left my camera at the Condo. I'm still figuring out my IPAD and haven't even figured out cut and paste yet. I'm a dismal failure but hope to improve in my reporting.

Ready to go

2011-05-31T21:10:00.000-02:30

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go on my painting holiday. I just have to remain patient until tomorrow morning when I leave St. John's at 6:15 a.m.. One of the major problems living so far east is the early rise to catch a flight if you want to be somewhere else at a reasonable hour. I fly into Boston and will arrive at 9:00 a.m..We have a whole day before we leave to drive to the encaustic conference.

Conference founder and director Joanne Mattera, in conjunction with the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, are pleased to announce that The Fifth International Encaustic Conference will take place June 3-5, 2011 in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with Post-con Workshops June 6-10 at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill.

Where are the ducks?

2011-05-21T09:59:00.000-02:30

I've been busy all week attending to all those details of your life you have to get organized before you go on a holiday. My ducks will not submit to organization of any type! I accomplish one task and another is added or mutates into something else. At one point I misplaced my lengthy list - not organized at all. I'm sure that when the morning of June 1 arrives I will be in tip top shape as I fly off to Boston to meet my friend Carol Bajen-Gahm who is attending the International Encaustic Conference with me.

I have a new Ipad and I plan to use it to write a few posts during the conference- if I have it figured out by then. I know I can take pictures and I assume I can get them into a post. My granddaughter who is 41/2 is very impressed with my new toy and not afraid of it at all. She knew all about apps and has the idea of free and paying for them. She has been impressing me with her ability to read free and use it as an argument to download kid friendly apps. How different from my childhood of meadows and seashore, marbles and playing house.

Found sculpture

2011-05-13T18:24:00.001-02:30

I always look forward to opening up the summer house because it marks the end of a long, dreary winter and the anticipation of the various events that become our summer. As you can see from the shot below we are still a long way from summer yet, but I'm happy to report seeing buds on the trees.

Everything still looks so dried out and sculptural it got me thinking about how the simplest things can be quite beautiful when you look at them in a different light. One of my favourite summer activities is exploring beaches and you never know what you might find. Some of the things I drag back home and many I just remember through a photograph.

Some of these have appeared in my art work and others have a strong pull for various reasons. Do you have a favourite?

Working on paper

2011-05-08T12:13:00.000-02:30

Last week I had two half days painting with encaustic on paper. It was exploration time at its best as I created different surface effects that I will later combine to create new pieces or else file as examples for future reference. It was exhilarating to have a block of time to work because my life is very hectic right now and I rarely see my studio. Here are some of my explorations which are completed works :

The base is printmaking paper that has been perforated with a sewing machine, coated in encaustic medium on both sides and then coloured with soft pastel that is shaved off the stick and rubbed into the wax surface and buffed. Then a dark paper and a grid paper were added and glazed with pearl pigment stick.

The same techniques were used on this one but there was more pooling of the powdered pastel when I tried to attach the encaustic dipped grid paper on top of the first level of work.

The same technique was used on this piece but the bottom half received a coating of black ink. I love the subtle resist created by the wax as the two media merged.

I have lots more to share and no time to write. Later today we are going to open our summer house for the season- it's not very summery where I am though. If Newfoundlanders ran their lives by the weather not much would happen! I may get enough time to paint or else I will photograph and walk; either way art wins in the end. I look forward to a summer of relaxation and painting but first I get to go to the International Encaustic Conference in early June.

Refining

2011-04-16T17:57:00.002-02:30

Sometimes subtle adjustments are necessary in an art work if you want to set objects into the background. One of the best ways to do this is to glaze the areas in question. When I glaze I sometimes use just water to dilute a colour and layer it several times drying between each. Other times I use an acrylic glazing medium. I have another trick that always works well for me. Because I use quite a bit of paper to layer my work, I choose very transparent papers and apply them over the areas that I want to set back. The tricky part is figuring out exactly what colour will work best. You have time to whip it off before the gloss medium dries. I admit this is a well practiced solution for me.

This is an almost completed painting. I've begun the glazing using papers in the bottom portion but the top is unaltered after applying the image transfers. To see what happens as more glazing is added check below.

The area around the centre received the most attention with paper glazing. Before that rocks looked very similar in tone but it didn't take long to bring interest and variety to the area. The whole painting received a glaze of transparent brown (one of my favourites) to finish it off (or so I thought). I also released the rope from under the rock, but it just isn't working because it looks like it's hovering. So much for great ideas. This one is going on the "needs further consideration wall" for now.

I planned to write a second post on mounting my strappo pieces but I seem to have filed my shots and I'm still playing detective to find them. Stay tuned.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-03-30T20:36:00.001-02:30

I had a productive weekend with encaustic which seems to be taking over my painting a little lately. I managed to complete a piece to submit to the International Encaustic Artist Conference Juried Show this June. I will wait to post the image as we get nearer to the show no matter how I make out with the submission.

I spent the rest of the time exploring textures and patterns on 8x8 panels.Paper and fabrics were laid down initially and then various techniques were used to replicate ( with variations) the original patterns. I'm interested in the subtle changes that happen in this layered process. Although you can recognize both patterns when you compare them to the original, changes have occurred. As in my previous works, these subtle changes produced by the passage of time and actions that intervene are my primary interest. If you think nice patterns or textures, that's fine too.

paper modified

lace modified

wallpaper modified

In previous posts I showed some of my earlier work on 4x4 here and 6x6 here. I use small panels to create studies in encaustic. I'm planning several larger works that are a mix of abstraction and realism (floral based), but I'm not confident to dive in and fully execute them, so I explore my ideas in a safe environment.

I can't imagine messing up an 18 x 24 piece full of encaustic- that's expensive stuff. In all of these small works I'm keeping a similar palette (obviously red) and then I can hang them grid style for a summer show I am in. Nothing gets wasted and I"m working out my strategies for background integration. I guess I will soon be ready to use some of what I've discovered in what I consider my "real work". The large pieces won't necessarily be red! I'll soon be over my red phase.

Strappo

2011-03-23T13:51:00.000-02:30

In the midst of my ArtFix studio residency, I went outside my four walls to take a workshop from my friend and fellow instructor Carol Bajen-Gahm at her Torbay Bight Studio. Usually I teach encaustic with Carol , but this time I was learning the ins and outs of strappo.

It was a fabulous two days and I created four pieces of work, some more successful than others. The strappo technique was new to me, but it will be one I'll definitely use in the future. I would describe it as a combination of painting and printmaking which fits into the category of monotype except it is done with acrylics not oils. Intrigued?

The Process

You begin with a sheet of clean glass the size determined by finished work dimensions. You can do a conventional painting or a mixed media work. Straight painting is the easiest to demonstrate/explain, so I will stick with that for my first post on this topic. As a result of my explorations I learned the following:

My Observations

- the glass should be free of any dirt or grease; a good cleaning is in order;

- the paint slides around on the glass and you can see the brushstrokes;
- the softer, smoother your brush, the better coverage you get;
- don't fight your natural application tendency (mine has a watercolour look);
- check periodically to see what the image looks like through the glass- this is how the finished print will look;

Louise Sutton checks out her progress.

- apply one thin coat of paint, let dry and then reinforce with a second coat if you want solid coverage;

- work with the light coverage and add a second layer of another colour to make the image look "deeper"/more dimensional ; (I used a blue green as my second backing coat). You could still see through sections of it after the second coat. I decided to see what would happen in the end.

- if you dislike what you create, use a blade or the handle of your brush or thin slivers of wood to remove parts;

The original idea for frothy water against the rocks was a failure. You have to blend as you go because what dries in the first layer is what you get. You don't have the option of laying in rough areas and refining by building up which is how I paint in acrylics. I was ready to give up on this one when Louise said, "Scrape back". I broke up all the solid bits of white and changed the season to spring when we get a lot of lose ice in the harbour by my summer house.

This is more like it.

When your painting is dry apply two coats of acrylic gesso to the back of it to thicken the acrylic skin. Let dry between each coat.

The final step was to apply a coat of gesso to the back of the painting and to a sheet of printmaking paper or 90 lb. watercolour paper. Put the paper( still wet) on top of the wet gesso on the painting and roll with a brayer. Put the sandwich under weights and let dry thoroughly. If you want to frame the work as a print make sure the paper you are attaching has enough border.

When dry, (leave overnight) use a razor blade to trim the dried ooze from the gesso and if you are going to mount the image on a cradled panel (my choice) then also cut off the excess paper that hangs over the edge.

Use a wet Q-tip to moisten the corners and the top edge of the "sandwich". Use a razor blade to gently loosen the top edge away from the glass. Slowly begin to lift the acrylic skin from the glass using your fingers close to the glass rather than pulling higher up.

In the pictures below I am almost at the end of the "pull". This is often the part that can stick and pull away from the paper especially if the gesso has seeped into a crack and attaches itself to the glass.

Almost there and it is stuck with gesso. I had to get a blade to "persuade" it to separate .

When you have a section that sticks you can correct the area with a mixture of paint and gloss gel. I hate the long green line in the rocks lower right. I'll have to doctor that up a bit.

Harold Garde developed/named this technique. I also discovered that the strappo technique was originally used to preserve frescos . Check out this video. I found it fascinating.

A strappo image has a surface that is unique in its tactile and visual qualities. This method expands the print makers choices. It has proven useful, adding to the range of techniques available for an artist's visual expression."

- Harold Garde

Next post: Attaching to a cradled panel and an acrylic pour

Still working away

2011-03-18T19:14:00.001-02:30

I've been very busy this week working on three pieces for an upcoming submission for a group show. I have't gotten around to finishing my last 6 x 6 "red piece". I'm ready for the last layer of pigment stick glazing.

All week I've been looking at these two papers that just ended up getting placed together.I've tried to come up with something I could use them for, but nothing came to me so now I've used the "bark" paper (not its correct name) in one of my new encaustics - and I don't have any left. Now how did I come by that? That seems to be my mantra since I started this "residency". I guess it shows it's working because I'm using up materials, but should I be thinking about buying more? Isn't that how we end up with so much stuff? I hate having that feeling that I might need it sometime and won't have it.