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2018 is on fire! Or was…

I started the new year with a burst of energy. Turns out I don’t “spring clean”, I “put Christmas away and New Year clean like a boss!” And with my studio/office clean and re-organized, I was able to get back to making art. I was on fire until Erin decided to share her cold with me. She’s a giver. But before that, I had pulled out the encaustic materials and made half a dozen pieces! And for me, who has a love/HATE relationship with melted wax, that is a win! It helped that I was doing photo encaustic pieces and transfers. I even pulled the silk screen printing I was doing into the mix! And low and behold, one of those pieces made it into the Sierra Wax Artist’s annual juried Member Show – Cross Pollination! This year’s show is so strong!  I am so proud to be a part of this amazing, talented, and fun group of artists. Be sure to check it out at Arthouse on R.And because encaustics are hot right now (sorry), 2 other galleries in the building are also featuring encaustic pieces! So swing by Studio 10 and Sparrow Gallery while you are there, you won’t…

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The Whole Ball of Wax

The Sierra Wax Artists group will be holding a member show next month at Arthouse on R. I will have at least one piece in the show, hopefully two.  It is going to be a really strong show! So many beautiful pieces – encaustic paintings, monotypes, cold wax paintings – something for everyone. Hope to see you there! I will be participating in another group show at Arthouse in June. “Collage – Invitational Group Exhibit”. In the meantime, I need to start thinking about my submissions for the upcoming Crocker Art Museum Art Auctions and the California State Fair Fine Art Exhibition. 

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Going with the flow… or not!

Someone long ago had painted “ONLY DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW” on a sidewalk at the University of Michigan. I don’t know if it was something I walked over once or everyday while I was there, but it was forever etched into my memory. Struggle against the flow. Go with the flow. Fight. Surrender. I don’t have the answers. Some days it’s one. Some days the other.  Making art is a struggle. Sometime you find that flow and go with it. The painting comes easy. Some days not. But I understand the game. “Don’t fall in love with the background!” The “ugly teenager” phase. It’s temporary! The “click” when it starts to come together. And  I know the materials. I feel competent that I can make them do my bidding. No big surprises. And then I started painting with encaustics, and the unknown is as vast as an ocean. I am a beginner here. Any sense of control that I may feel is false. With heat the wax becomes fluid and unpredictable. The lines move. Too much heat and you melt through to the wood panel underneath all those layers. You blow a hole into the painting. And you have…

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