I am an artist who passionately loves to create and teach. I am proud to announce that I am a certified R&F Paints encaustic instructor. This page is dedicated to one of my favorite mediums: encaustic. I’ve created a selection of sample pieces that I use for instructional tools designed to inspire others to explore their own artistic capabilities. Whenever I start a project I think, “This can be an effective exercise. How can I simplify these steps? How can I break this down?” In this gallery I’ve written minor descriptions detailing each process.
Interested in learning more? Check out my 2018 calendar for upcoming workshops.
A pull-down sample board using Pthalo Turquoise. The right side is the color extended with increasing amounts of wax medium. The left side is the color tinted with white.
Pthalo Turquoise, Titanium White
3 types of drawing media in 3 layers: India ink, graphite and charcoal. The first marks were made on an un-primed board, the second marks were on a layer of wax medium and the final marks were done on the surface of the wax.
Mars Yellow Deep
Surface texture transitions from smooth to rough. This was my first time working with Cadmium Green Pale and I fell in love instantly with the color!
Titanium White, Cadmium Green Pale, Cadmium Yellow Light
Texture is further emphasized by a color change from dark blue to light blue.
Left detail: Ultramarine Blue, Malachite Green
Right detail: Titanium White, Cadmium Green Pale, Cadmium Yellow Pale
A layer of colorful alcohol ink is separated by 3 layers of wax medium. India ink is brushed on and allowed to dry. I then created a positive and a negative image by scraping away the India ink, revealing the alcohol ink underneath.
A sample piece showing a variety of drawing media. Here I tried the Stabillo Woody pencils.
Layers of paper separated by wax medium. The first layers become more diffused as wax is added.
3 stencil techniques: white over black (positive), white over white (positive) with black rub, black (positive) with white (negative) scraped-away.
Neutral White, Turkey Umber Greenish
A simple color exercise while practicing precise fusing. I did a light watercolor wash before priming the board with wax. The watercolor peeks through the brushstrokes.
Titanium White, Cobalt Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone Red
A layering process using Caran Dasche Neocolor II crayons, alcohol ink and white India ink. No encaustic paint was used in this project.
A mixed-media demo piece using stencils, alcohol ink, image transfer and collage. A small amount of Titanium White was used to emphasize the stencil.
This is a simple landscape project that I like to use in my more advanced encaustic classes. It is a simple composition that allows the student to focus on color mixing while practicing more precise fusing methods.
Malachite Green, Titanium White, Egyptian Violet, Mars Yellow Light, Alizarin Orange
A more advanced limited color study with focus on the pattern of the tree bark as well as light and shadow.
Malachite Green, Titanium White, Egyptian Violet, Mars Yellow Light, Alizarin Orange
One way to introduce precise line work is to incise into the surface. The incision can be left as is or filled with color. Metal clay tools work well for this process.
