EncaustiCamp 2012: Lasting Influences

My final class at EncaustiCamp this year proved to be the one that really spoke to my inner artist. Sue Stover's techniques using encaustics on watercolor paper has spilled over into my work in a really big way. Sue showed us how to work with the wax in very thin layers, use of the torch to fuse, then how to scrape and incise to add texture and depth to our work. As I dabbled with her techniques that Saturday, I grew more and more comfortable with the thought that encaustic doesn't necessarily need a rigid surface. I also fell in love with the Iwatani torch, and have not gone back to the heat gun at all since coming home from Oregon.

 While my workshop pieces have a definite "Sue Stover" look to them, the work I've completed since return ing home truly takes what I learned and adds another layer to my own style. "Second Chance" is a 6"x9" mixed media piece that includes a vintage paper silhouette of a greyhound---one of my favorite dog rescue organizations was in mind when I created this painting. With all of my animal artwork, the sale of this painting will benefit animal rescue efforts.

 "There and Back Again" was inspired by a recent trip through Atlanta's ATL. I am amazed at the organized chaos that is ever-present at the busiest airport in the United States. In addition to the techniques I learned from Sue, I also incorporated India ink into this painting. I brought my newest book resource, Daniella Woolf's The Encaustic Studio: A Wax Workshop in Mixed Media for reading on the plane and took note of her India ink suggestions. To my delight, I got to play with it in Bridgette Guerzon Mills' workshop on Day 2. India ink has become a staple of my encaustic supplies!

August was a really tricky month for me. I was on vacation, Up North with my family for 10 days. This kept me out of the studio for a good two weeks. I managed to do a bit of art journaling while I traveled, and had a stint at CREATE in Chicago before the month ended. I finally made it back into my studio on the final day of the month! Despite more than 20 phone calls from work that day (long story), I did manage to complete one piece, which remains untitled since it ended up going home with a dear friend, literally hours after it's completion.

With it, I see subtle influences of all the new techniques I picked up in the past several weeks, including the addition of alcohol ink to my encaustic work. This would be Cathy Taylor's contribution to my toolbox! I'm looking forward to see what comes of all my new tools and techniques in the coming weeks. My brain is still not full, though----looking forward to EncaustiCon. Hope to see you there!

Live the dream:)

Brenda

More Cats and Dogs, Plus a New Product Line

Firestorm (12"x12"), encaustic and mixed media painting

The cats and dogs continue to leap onto my encaustic boards! I found a vintage ledger book on Etsy, which replenished my source for creating these silhouettes indefinitely (there are more than 100 pages in this wonderful oversized book of handwritten pages!).

My managers have been admiring the new paintings that found their way to our doctors' office walls and have been dropping hints about their bare office. Monday morning, they will come in to work to find a pair of dogs to liven up their office. "The Offering" is a 9"x12" encaustic and mixed media piece that just begs someone to throw the ball. "Let's Play" is 16"x16" and invites anyone and everyone to take a break and have a little bit of fun.

"The Offering" (9"x12"), encaustic and mixed media painting

 With the abundance of cats and dogs, I decided to create a line of blank greeting cards. The Vintage Pet cards are 4"x6" and come in sets of 5. The envelopes include a sealing label that matches the image on each card. In addition to Vintage Pets, I also created Vintage SoMe Blank Greeting Cards. Whether you love or hate social media, you'll love the irony of these images, created with vintage papers and produced with the intent of communicating with friends and family the old-fashioned way----with a stamp! You can check the first two sets of greeting cards out on my website.

An added benefit of purchasing my pet encaustic artwork and greeting cards? Two percent of these sales are donated to pet rescue organizations! My next creation?.....stay tuned for Encaustic Angels!

Live the dream:)
Brenda

"Let's Play" (16"x16"), encaustic and mixed media painting

It's Raining Cats and Dogs

A Window Seat for Princess (12"x12")

It was only a matter of time before my two lives intersected in my artwork! This month, I have been creating a new office space for the veterinarians at my office. We had three really nice Stephen Huneck prints that celebrate the veterinarian. I chose the wall color paint from these prints and they look great. I then decided a few new pieces were in order to complement the new space.

This weekend, I finished three encaustic and mixed media paintings to hang in their new office. All three are encaustic paintings that have silhouette images of either a cat or a dog, which are cut from vintage ledger paper and embedded in the layers of encaustic medium. "A Window Seat for Princess" was inspired by our clinic cat, Princess. She arrived on our doorstep approximately eight years ago, in a white castle box, and gave birth to kittens within a week of her arrival. Homes for the kittens were easy enough to find, but Princess turned out to be a "special case"....she's not too crazy about people, but she took a real liking to the doctors' office---where she has lived ever since. The new office will give her a "real home", outside the walls of the animal hospital. She will now have her choice of window seats in the new space next door.

Vintage Greyhound (12"x12")

The second painting I created for their new office is "Vintage Greyhound". This is probably my favorite and is significant in that we work closely with Greyhounds Pets of America, caring for greyhounds who are retired from their racing lives to find their forever homes. We screen these gorgeous animals for parasites, vaccinate them, neuter or spay them, and clean their teeth so they have a clean bill of health before they begin their lives with a new family. Our medical director, Dr. Bill Neumann is a past board member of the Indianapolis branch of GPOA, and greyhounds have a special place in his heart.

The third painting, "Vintage Noel" was inspired by none other than Noel Brunner herself. Noel is an eleven-year-old labrador who is a celebrity at Broad Ripple Animal Clinic. She has been coming "to work" nearly every day since she turned 2, and was judged as being well-enough-behaved to keep herself out of trouble.

Vintage Noel (12"x12")

Despite her multiple knee surgeries and arthritis, this dog's entire body wiggles with joy when she greets you---no matter who you are! Strangely timid around little dogs, Noel is known by just about every client who comes to BRAC on a regular basis. Always looking for a hand-out, the staff is quick to warn visitors that she is on a strict diet (but she still manages to get her share of treats from soft-hearted dog lovers when we aren't watching).

After running out of larger sheets of ledger paper, I started working in a smaller size and created a few 5"x5" paintings in a similar style. The results were two new cat paintings titled, "Leap of Faith" and "Daydreamer". I think I'm going to have to find a regular source for more vintage papers...at least until the cats and dogs are all captured in wax:)

Leap of Faith (5"x5")

Live the dream:)
Brenda

Daydreamer (5"x5")

Saying "No" to Get to "Yes"

I've been "grounded" for the past five weeks, while my husband was skiing in Colorado for his 50th birthday. This means I didn't fly anywhere, or leave the city of Indianapolis for anything. I had several phone calls from people wanting me to come do a presentation or consult with their practice, but I stuck to my self-imposed "grounding" for my family's sake, and it turns out----for my art's sake.

In the past five weeks, I was able to spend at least 8 hours each week in the studio, starting new pieces and finishing others. I believe I have produced more finished work in the past five weeks, than I have in the previous two years. Right now, I have six or seven pieces in progress! I find myself looking for time each week to get to the studio. I am now planning it into each week, once I have completed other projects and commitments. With April upon me, I am worried that I won't find that time for quite a while. I am overbooked with travel and outside consulting work.

Moving forward, I now know I need to incorporate a new word into my vocabulary----the word "no". Without it, I will lose my precious studio time which can only lead to imbalance of my inner well-being. At the end of 2011, one of my goals for 2012 was to limit my travels to one trip or week each month. I seriously blew that for January/February and April. September is looking equally out-of-balance already, so my new mantra is "say no to get to yes"!