by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
It’s 10 PM and I want potato chips. None in the house, not a one. And that’s a good thing. Or so I keep telling myself….
Now, back to the blog. Do you remember this from yesterday?
Today it became this. (Crappy photo alert)
Oh, that’s a closeup. I just want to show the surface treatment. Today I discovered–with ALL the happiness in my heart–how wonderful yummy luscious my new R&F Pigment Sticks work on wax. You have to wipe them down pretty thin. Can’t have big globs o’paint sitting on the wax. And then you have to fuse WITH A TORCH. Don’t even try using a heat gun, no no no, please! You have to have the gentlest of flames, low and soft, and just lightly kiss the wax. Move on as soon as it takes on a shine. Quick, quick or everything will run and distort. Do a couple of light fusings until the oil has become one with the wax. You know that’s happened when you can rub your fingers across and nothing comes off on them.
Then use some clear medium and do another layer of color. Repeat as much as you want.
And wear a respirator because who knows what’s in those paints. I wear one all the time when working in wax. Makes me look like a grasshopper. But. I. Don’t. Care. Because I LIKE to breathe. And I’d like to keep on breathing.
So just before packing up for the night I was playing around with a 6X6 board. I’d been experimenting with the flat iron (don’t like it) and then decided to use some pastel pencil scribbles as a transfer. Well, then that led to paint. And more scribbles. I just wanted to see if inspiration might strike.
Low and behold, it did. YAY!!!
In the form of a boat. Just the start but I’m liking it.
Liking the idea of a red boat sooooo much I started another.
And then, just before I turned off the light and shut the door because really, it was getting late…
I turned this one on it’s side. Hmmm…maybe not a window. Maybe a shelf. With a boat. Maybe….
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 |
Quick look at what I’m doing right now. Oils, mostly on plaster. Works-in-progress, every one. Early days. This is my favorite:
It’s oil on plaster. Think thin coats of oil paint, colors over colors with lots of scratching. And then there’s the heavy texture of the plaster underneath. But this is just the beginning. As soon as it’s dry enough I’m going to go after it with wax. Layers and layers of hot wax with who knows what in between. I think this one is 12 X 16.
This is also my favorite. It’s a mom thing, got to love ’em all equal. Warning: the photo doesn’t do it justice. It’s also oil on plaster and I’m seeing this with handwriting in the wax-that-has-yet-to-be-applied. Soon. This is 12 X 12
For some reason I’m into rectangles these days.
And scribbles. I love scribbles. This is a little one, 6 X 6. And down below is a lineup of a few more.
Like I said in the beginning, it’s early days for these guys. It’ll be a good week before I wax ’em, the oil base is already tacky but time is my friend here. Meanwhile I’ve got some big cradled panels in the works. Should have lots more to show by the weekend. Maybe even some finished pieces.
Finished pieces are good. Especially with a show in three weeks!
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!
