Hi there! Today I have a special piece to share with you. It's something I made for PaperArtsy for a Lynne Perrella designer focus. Here's the link to the original post (link).
The project could have been anything as Lynne Perrella's stamps are so versatile and can be used in every kind of project, but it was the quarterly theme of "transparent" that got me thinking about encaustic collage. I own a couple of blocks of actual encaustic wax, but what I've used before to mimic the look is pure beeswax. If you are looking for making something that stands the test of time in excellent shape, then use the actual encaustic waxes, but if you'd just like to experiment and see if this technique is something that intrigues you or not, then pure beeswax is a great and inexpensive option. If you want to see how I made the piece, please see the PaperArtsy blog as there's a step by step there.
I'm not sure if there was an inkling of a thought already when I started looking through the stamp sets trying to pick the perfect one for this project, or was it the set I chose, that really sparked the final piece of the puzzle - Gustav Klimt. I thought to make a painting-like piece that would have the Egyptian style head and then a gown in the style of the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. I visited Vienna in my teens and fell in love with his art. I bought a memory game with details of his paintings and now used them as reference and inspiration when starting my project. I was especially drawn to "Expectation", "Judith I" and "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I". All the pieces of art are linked so you can have a look!
Another source for the elaborate dress was another artist, who in fact was also inspired by Gustav Klimt - Tawny Chatmon. She's a photography-based artist, who I follow on Instagram. Especially her "The Redemption" and "If I'm No Longer Here, I Wanted You To Know" series speak to me with the Klimt-esque details.
Encaustic is a whole world of its own. It's an ancient technique and a really captivating one. I especially enjoy collaging and the transparent or translucent layers you can create with it and how the colors of the collaged bits change when they are immersed in wax.
My first encounter with the medium, that has been embedded in my mind, was in Creative World event in Frankfurt Messe, Germany, when I saw encaustic artist Lora Murphy working on a big canvas and was intrigued by her medium. Me and my friend watched her create and asked about the medium I guess that much, that she invited me to try it. And to no other surface than to that gorgeous painting she was working on! It took some convincing, but in the end I did try a little bit and was astounded both about the method and the medium. This experienced has since been a cherished memory.
I still haven't tried my hand at an actual encaustic painting, but I have made some collages with beeswax and bought a couple of colors of actual encaustic blocks. In this project I combined the beeswax with beeswax based crayons to get some colors I wanted, so maybe I'm one step closer to actually dare to paint with encaustics!
Thank you for stopping by today!
Materials: PaperArtsy, Wennström, Ranger, Sinelli
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