Wild Work in Oil and Cold Wax

Shelly's painting in oil/cold wax/graphite on Arches Oil Paper

Wild women met recently at my studio for "Expressive Abstraction in Oil and Cold Wax." They produced wonderful completed work and work in progress. 

Very early stages left to dry.

All the students were experienced painters but had not used cold wax before. They had to learn to let layers dry and not to overwork the pieces in the early stages, which we all tend to do when we're starting out in this medium.

The trick is to work on a lot of pieces at once to let layers dry and also to become looser.

By the second day, all the artists had loosened up wonderfully and explored a lot of options in color, composition, incising, scraping back, and texturing. Thanks to all of you for a wonderful weekend!

Adding collage elements using cold wax medium as the glue

Adding and spreading paint and wax with a palette knife

Using a brayer to spread paint and texture

 A beautiful and dynamic finished piece.

Closeup of above

More of the lovely finished pieces from the class:

Detail from the piece at the top of the post. The piece was inspired by a painting of a young woman carrying another on her back.

Gold transfer leaf makes this piece sing, and the next few as well.

Covering over a piece in progress, then scraping and incising back produces complex simplicity.

Lively works in progress:

Oil/Cold Wax Class on the Oregon Coast

Jac created this piece in class. It's now on view next door to the Bloom studio, at Touchstone Gallery!

I had so much fun going through the photos I took from "Expressive Abstraction in Oil and Cold Wax", the class I taught a couple of weeks ago in Yachats, OR. This was the third time I've had the pleasure of teaching at Bloom! an artscape, the summer studio of Sandy Mier. I was happy to see familiar faces and meet new ones. 

I hope you enjoy seeing some of what students produced over two days. Most of these pieces are on paper, though a few are on wood panels. This is the first installment, as these students were prolific and inventive!

Back to the Blog

The High Road (Diptych)                      Oil/Cold Wax on Deep Cradled Panels

I can't believe I haven't written a blog post since April. What's that about? In part it's about being busy, but more, I think, about my tendency to post news on FB instead. I have been thinking about the purpose of art blogs and what I want mine to be as I resume posting.

I do see the blog as a publicity tool, but I want it to be more than that. I'm interested in sharing news about other artists, art tools and methods, art inspirations and ruminations. In today's post I will be sharing some of my work and accomplishments, but also those of another artist I admire. 

I have recently received my advance copy of my new book from North Light! I'm delighted how my work and the work of my talented contributors looks. The book comes out on August 19 and can be pre-ordered now at Amazon or The North Light Shop. I'll be profiling my 12 contributors in future posts.

I had included a resource page in the book, but for some reason it didn't appear in this printing. I've posted the resources on my website. On my resource page I give thanks and appreciation to the artist who has generously shared with many her vast knowledge and expertise in the medium of oil and cold wax. This is Rebecca Crowell, who is currently co-writing her own book on oil and wax. (Hers will be out in 2016, so read mine this year, and hers next year!)

Mayo Coast 3       Rebecca Crowell   Oil/Cold Wax on Panel

Quick note about my classes: My July class in Yachats, OR is full. There are still spots open in my oil and cold wax class at The Miller Studio in Seattle, August 15 & 16. Information/Registration on my site.

They're Here: My DVDs from North Light

My New Wabi-Sabi DVDs from North Light

Last August I had a real adventure. I flew back to Cincinnati to film two DVDs at the North Light studio. I've made my own videos for online classes, but this was the first time I'd been filmed by professionals. Everyone was so friendly and fun to work with that I was able to overcome any apprehension and really enjoy the process. 

 

Here's where we filmed. You can see my "mark" on the floor.

The DVDs have just come out and I am thrilled with them! Aside from having to watch myself and see that in fact I am not as young as I feel, I was very pleased with the photography, sound, content, tone, and well, everything! 

The DVD above features a wabi-sabi walk for inspiration, working with photos for color and texture inspiration, using acrylics, using re-inkers, The Great Cover-Up, and more. 

The DVD below moves on to encaustic techniques and inspiration, using plaster, and using cold wax and oil. Both DVDs contain an informal interview with me and my editor, Kristin Conlin. You can see the interview on YouTube and find out my first career aspirations known only to a few before now! 

 

The DVDs are available from Amazon and will be available soon from Create Mixed Media, North Light's art site. They'll be available there also in the form of an online video from Artists Network TV, also on the Create Mixed Media site.