SYLLABUS

Introductions
Meet the Artists
Learning the Basics
Studio Safety
Availability of Materials
Tools of the Trade

--Altering the Ground--Review the handout for the basic rabbit skin glue gesso recipe. Once you have built up the surface or purchased an encaustic gesso board, you can alter the surface with watercolor, graphite, charcoal or pencil. These fine marks are difficult to achieve when working with the hot melted surface of encaustic, so now is your chance to use some of your previous art making skills. Think of Timothy McDowell’s futuristic landscapes, Howard Hersh’s vines, and Mark Rediske’s still life paintings. The aim is to achieve dynamic color and composition prior to beginning to cover the surface with wax. With this type of painting, the wax is just a top coat or a gentle color addition.

--Abstract Impression--We will all begin with a small wood panel. Use the wax bath and the wide brush to cover the panel with several overlapping strokes. Make sure to fully load the brush and make sure it is hot. Fuse this first layer so that the wax soaks into the wood. Continue until you have built up a thick surface of 4 or five layers of wax, fusing between each layer. If the panel gets too hot, let it cool before moving on. While the panel cools, dig through the boxes of chains, grids, and wire. Prior to making your marks you will run a hot iron over your wax surface to smooth any seams in the wax and to create an interesting texture for the under painting. The wax surface responds differently to the iron if it is cool or warm so this will affect your surface. You will now add a thin layer of oil paint. Wear gloves to keep your hands and work area clean. Use the cheaper paint as most of this will get wiped away. Use oil and a blue towel to gently loosen the paint and leave just enough to reveal this initial layer. Make sure to remove ALL the oil! Lightly fuse this thin coat of oil paint, after making sure not to leave too much oil or any clumps of oil paint. Cover this under painting with a thin coat of encaustic paint (wax) using a wide brush. Now you can begin to press in chains or metal grids or make drawings into the surface. I like to draw with a razor blade at this point. One rule to follow at this initial stage is to not make the painting too dark too soon. Try to stick with similar colors at this point and create a harmonious palette. Highlights and imagery can be added later. Any marks or drawings can be reinforced with a thin coat of oil paint or pigment stick, lightly fused and then covered with a thin coat of wax to seal the layer. Continue moving up through the surface, adding imagery and maintaining a sense of light from deep within the painting. Imagine working with clay and carving into the surface like a 2.5 dimensional sculptor.

--Sumi and Tempera-- Water based media can be included at any stage of an encaustic painting. However, the water must evaporate prior to additional wax layers. Sumi ink and tempera can be used as well as small amounts of acrylic. I add a bit of acrylic to my ink to give it a better hold on the wax. Use the delicate ink to make calligraphic marks or detailed drawings. The tempera is a nice porous paint, once dry. It seems to accept the wax layer on top quite well. It works well for the monotype technique described below.

--Monotype--As we have explored previously, it can be difficult to maintain fine detail painting with wax. This technique allows you to create grids and patterns which are easy to maintain but also can easily be removed or lightened. You will need a soft brayer and a surface to roll out ink or tempera paint. Load the brayer and then find a flexible surface to use as a printing plate. I like needle point mesh or various plastic screens I have found. Cover the surface completely with paint. Take the painted surface and press it down on the wax surface of your painting. Try it a few times with less and less paint, it will produce various effects. Another way to use this printmaking technique is to draw a design on glassine, wax, or palette paper and then flip it over and press on the wax. The opportunity for repetition and regularity and the inclusion of these random marks is appealing to me.

--Collage--Prepare a panel as you did for the previous paintings. You may want to repeat the step where you create texture with the iron and the oil paint, unless you think you will be covering the entire panel with collage. I like to use pages from old books, maps, and Asian papers with characters and writing. Collage with encaustic is easy. Warm the panel and then dip the paper or collage item into the wax. Gently drag it along the side of the hot plate to remove extra wax and then place it on the warm encaustic painting. Use your fingers or a flat tool and work out any extra wax or air bubbles from the center of the collaged piece. Lightly fuse here. You may want to “antique” the edges of the paper or panel at this point with a thin coat of oil paint that is gently wiped away and fused. Leaves are fun to collage with, whether you leave them in the collage or gently pull them out and just use their shape as an imprint or drawing. Take a few leaves and experiment with attaching them to the surface by dipping them and then lightly fusing. Add wax over the top and experiment with how much coverage you want between the leaves and the surface. Try to fuse the final surface without igniting the leaves. Continue to experiment with additional materials like pattern pieces or photos. The trick is to not light your collage elements on fire as you fuse and to build a them around the collage elements or drawing you choose. Think of Ashley Collin’s horse paintings and the way yellowed photographs and old paper is so interesting. The paintings could feel like opening an old trunk in an attic and coming across interesting treasures. This technique allows for the use of fabric, thread or thin papers in a woven structure.

Review of techniques and questions.