by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Got boats on the brain today. Remember this? The ‘dead zone’ work-in-progress. (Two days ago)
Turned into this? (Yesterday–and yes, I am most definitely getting the miles out of these photos. Shamelessly so.)
And then today…ta ta…went on a creative rampage. Before I could stop myself I grabbed some sharp and pointed instruments and did this:
Oh! Oh! WHAT HAPPENED!!! What were you THINKING Susan?
THIS is what happened. And THIS is what I thought, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh….”
Here’s another one. This is a little guy, 6″X6″. For my wax savy friends there’s accretion going on in here. And intaglio. And oil bars.
And now my back is screaming at me for standing on a slab floor while quasi hunkering over a workbench for the better part of the day. I’m going to go stretch out. And then I’m going to have a cuppa tea. And some brownies.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Got a late start in Studio Grande today. Things to do, none of which (in hindsight) were really necessary.
I believe it’s called procrastination.
I understand why. Been rolling with the oils lately, like second nature. But today it was wax. That was the plan and I was sticking with it. And I did. I started small, a couple of 6″X6″ and one 12″X12″.
But I didn’t follow the plan exactly. In fact, except for the wax part, I didn’t follow it at all.
Instead of using the oils as a base, I began with a blank board. Blank except for some smudges. But smudges were OK because my new found plan was graphite drawing. Except there wasn’t a pencil to be found…in an art studio. Go figure.
Well I probably could’ve found one if I actually looked. But the charcoal was RIGHT THERE. On the counter. It was a sign, I’m telling you, a sign.
I started out with a couple coats of clear wax medium. Then I took some soft charcoal and scribbled a goodly mess. Then a quick fuse. Then I scraped some lines, bringing out the white, covered the whole thing with a couple more coats of medium and did it all again. And again and again and again. A couple layers up I began adding color via pastels and grownup artist crayons. Eventually it developed into a landscape although that was not the plan when first begun. Remember–no plan.
Looks much better up close and personal. Much. You’ll have to trust me on this. This one is close to finished but not quite there.
I got a couple more little ones going but no photos. Maybe tomorrow. Then I started on a 12X12.
This is the base oil painting. Started with a couple layers of clear wax medium. Then I incised some scribbles, brought them out with a glaze of burnt umber oil paint. Added some pastel. Made a total mess. Fused it. Covered the whole she-bang with a couple more coats of medium. I was really getting into it but oh man, it was getting late. So I decided to stop.
Here. In the dead zone. Artists know what this is. For my non-artist peeps, the dead zone is similar to when your kids are adolescents and you begin to think there’s no hope. You stick with them and eventually they turn out just fine. For dog people–just remember what it’s like when the puppy is five months old.
I think that explains it rather well.
Tomorrow I’ll show the finished piece. I’m looking forward to getting back to it.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art
More works in progress. These are all oils on cradled board. Plastered first. I consider these the base paintings for layers of encaustic (hot beeswax). The wax will be incised, scribed, carved, added to…whatever moves me at the time. It will add layers of depth, like looking through clear water.
At least that’s the plan.
It will be a week or so before I can wax these. have to wait until they’re dry. Which is okay. I have six or eight others that are ready that I’ll get to this next weekend. Meanwhile I have a day job and a studio to clean.
Because after the productive frenzy of the last couple of days Studio Grande is a MESS.
Without further ado……………..here’s what I’ve been up to the last couple of days.
Two parter (diptych for my art peeps) First panel is 1’X2′. Second panel is 2’X2′.
Diptych # 2. Same size as # 1 Or maybe it will go as two separate paintings when all is said and done.
May add more to this. Ran out of time but like what’s there. Leave a lot of room for what I do with the wax. 2’X2′
This one was so much fun. The first of several that have a landscape feel. 2’X2′
More landscape feel. Big sucker, 2’X3′. Thinking it’s too busy, may go back and simplify.
And again. 2’X3′
I’ll post before and after photos as I finish these. Should be interesting, especially since Ms. Muse has been dropping hints, little AHA! twinkles but, umm…no real game plan.
And I splurged and ordered some R&F pigment sticks. Love love LOVE those things. Like painting with soft butter. They should be here in a day or two and that could change EVERYTHING. Like giving a teen a can of spray paint and a blank wall. So works-in-progress are just that, subject to change at the creative whim.
Stay tuned for more.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
I’ve got a show coming up in three weeks. THREE WEEKS! Pause here to breathe into a paper bag, in case you’re getting anxious for me. And you might be if you saw what I did in the studio today.
Because today I gave myself permission to get in there and make a mess. Push the envelope. Practice some of the new stuff I’m learning in Judy’s class. I gave myself permission to make nothing. NOTHING. Just experiment.
I took a 6″X6″ board. Covered it with wax one way. Scraped most of it off. Covered it another way. Scraped most of that off. Scribbled on it with chalk pastel, water crayons, charcoal. Cut up an old art history book and made a transfer of a painting I should know the name of. Covered it all with more wax. Scraped a whole bunch of that off.
At the end of the day I figured I should have something to show for the day–besides the bucket of wax scrapings, that is. So I went back into my comfort zone and threw together something I was happy with.
Except I didn’t like the surface. It was too uneven. Not uneven in a deliberate way (part of it was that). Uneven in a sloppy way.
So I decided to try something I never did before…a wax pour.
I constructed a barrier… (fuzzy photo alert!)
and poured the wax. A bit too much. But it was even, oh yes it was. And thick as cream cheese on a bagel. When I left the studio it was still white. We’ll see how it looks tomorrow but I suspect there’ll be more scraping involved. But if it was cream cheese…ahh, I’d be in heaven.
I had another piece similar to this that I made last week. I decided to do another pour, this time with no barrier. Look at this carefully because I want you to compare it with the final product.
I propped it ever so slightly over a spoon so the hot wax would have a direction to flow. Then I poured. This time I did it right–imagine that!
I added just a touch of gold leaf to highlight the depth of the wax. It’s not the best photo but you can see what I mean. This is what I love about encaustic!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Beloved Beasties, Dogs |
I woke up in the middle of the night, dog must’ve woofed or sumthin’. Not a totally unheard of event, living in the country. A lot of distractions going on outside in the big woods. Four legged distractions. Sophie in particular fancies herself a watchdog. Twelve pounds of Maltipoo vs. the wild beasts.
Bean tends to sleep through it all. Most nights I roll over, stuff a pillow over my head and go back to sleep.
But last night was different. I was in the middle of a dream. And there was a blowtorch involved. Which meant I was making art, doing the encaustic dance in my sleep.
I lay there thinking about that. About sleep as a means of recharging and refreshing and yet here I was carrying on the activities of the day on a whole ‘nother level.
As I write this many hours later, I have no memory of the the dream itself, of the content. But I still see the image I woke up with, the torch in my hand, the flame on the wax.
And I’m thinking it’s a good thing I don’t sleepwalk. And if I ever did, there’s a couple of locked doors and a gauntlet of wild beasties between me and that torch.
