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“I’m running a part 2 workshop…” Brian said “are you interested?”

“Am I…sign me up!” I replied

And so I came to be sat in the Encaustic Art Plus workshop (part 2) on a beautiful autumnal monday…did you know, as cold as it is, that winter doesn’t officially start until the winter solstice 21st December?!

I digress…back to Elsecar Heritage Centre, green “pinnie” neatly tied behind me, warm iron waiting and lots more vivid colours calling me from the tin I’m awaiting first instructions from Brian Nelson once again…..

Today’s workshop will build on skills we learned previously and explore other methods and techniques that can be combined to introduce variety to our encaustic painting. We’re going to use stamping and hotplate techniques and I’m excited by the sight of a nugget of gold beeswax lurking toward the edge of the tin…..

Encaustic Tree

First up, tree inked, stamped and “fixed” with beeswax before overpainting with the liquid gold that appears as I place my nugget on the iron. My encaustic tree grows beneath something resembling the Aurora Borealis.

Encaustic Seahorses

A slight change in direction and we’re off to the depths of the ocean. The stylus tool picks out the detail of the ocean floor and a solitary star fish.

Something slightly different next…we dismantle our irons and with all the anticipation and excitement that comes with a child’s Transformer toy they become a personal hotplate.

Encaustic Forest

The play of beeswax on the heated surface of the card presents new opportunity and challenge in equal measure.

The introduction of a “palette” to paint from as melted beeswax is transferred via stamps to a second card…reheated to create an opportunity for a wax-drawn forest floor beneath the broccoli like trees.

VW Heaven or Hell

A sheet full of vivid molten wax is transformed when introduced to another stamp…the iconic VW Camper emerges from the molten heat of Hell.

The versatility of this medium and the vibrance of the available colours have warmed another cold afternoon which has passed all too quickly.

Fortunately there is just enough time left to consolidate all the tools and techniques we have worked with over the two workshops and create our very own encaustic masterpiece, so……………….. Here Be Dragons!

Here Be Dragons

Thanks again Brian!!

Help! I missed Part 1

Always keen to learn something new I treated myself to a half day workshop with Brian Nelson at Encaustic Art Plus, Elsecar. I use the word “treat” advisedly! The afternoon was full of fun thanks to Brian’s excellent tuition and the company of him and the other workshop attendees. We were all up and running really quickly with some basic techniques…who would have thought that ironing could be so much fun!!!

My Beeswax colour is selected (I chose to start with vivid) and my iron is set to somewhere in the region of a silk setting. Now I know it is unlikely I will burn myself severely I’m ready to paint.

Encaustic painted pineapple

Encaustic Zeppelin

Spreading a background colour, creating lines using the edge and point of the iron and manipulating the wax using different parts of the sole plate.

I have carved wax before, but encaustic painting is completely different – liquid, runny and far less predictable than wax in its solid state, but it’s interesting to work with less control.

Further experiments produce interesting effects in beautiful, vibrant colours, enhanced when lightly polished with a soft cloth:

Encaustic “Butterfly Wings”

Encaustic “Raspberry Ripple”

A few more experiments with colour and technique and we are ready to move on to more complex techniques that will enable us to create landscapes . This is the moment we had all been waiting for! First, a simple landscape:

Encaustic “Green Landscape”

Using only one colour, but with a small residue from the previous picture, placing and dragging the iron creates a background “mountain”.

Placing and lifting the iron in the foreground creates the sense of depth and the effect of foliage. The side of the iron carves out the meadow grass. This feels really satisfying!

With a little more colour, thought and skill we are able to introduce a whole mountain range in the background. A body of water is created in the mid ground and a pathway through the foliage in the foreground to the lake beyond.

Encaustic “Purple Landscape”

With the introduction of the stylus tool we can add fantasy castles, fences, flower heads and picket fences…this is a real revelation!

Encaustic “Magic Kingdom”

And finally we are introduced to the scraper tools and stamps – the opportunity to add finer detail to the finished images.

Encaustic painted flower

Encaustic VW Camper

It’s refreshing to work in a different medium once in a while and I have thoroughly enjoyed this fluidity of this particular adventure.

Note to self: remember to save for further encaustic adventures…

KL Art

Karen Loughridge Fine Art

Tag Archives: encaustic

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