Encaustic Painting

This blog will explore the various aspects of painting. After painting for 55 years and teaching for 45 years I have learned much from the process and from other artists and my students. I plan to share my passion for painting in these blog entries. Since 2008, I have been working in encaustic or wax painting. Pigmented wax can be used in combination with other media and I have combined transparent watercolor and gouache (opaque watercolor) with pigmented wax working on different surfaces like translucent vellum and black vellum. By working my dark values and color on the backside of the vellum, I am able to layer the colors and place transparent colors on the front that add depth to the dark values without sullying the rich color as would have occurred had I placed the dark values on the front and added color on top of the darks. Also, truly rich dark shades are achieved by placing the darks on both sides of the vellum. Although the distance is minimal, the perception of depth is amazing and when placed over a white backing board, the colors glow as light passes through the transparent and translucent layers of wax, reflecting from the back board. The picture shows an example of my work from the Belzoni Series completed in Glastonbury England in 2008.