How Did I Do That?

After all these years of making art, I sometimes wonder "How did I do that?" I study the painting  up close and try to remember what I used to get that effect or what colors were on my palette during that series.

I always work in series, with rare exception.The exception being when I am experimenting with different mediums and tools. When I am in that special series zone, my excitement and energy pushes me to eagerly keep going . Waking up exhilarated with new ideas,  I work on 3 paintings at a time to stay fresh.

In the series, Women Who Changed the world, you can see the continuing style in each of the paintings:  http://www.artsyshark.com/2015/11/02/featured-artist-ezshwan-winding/

Here is one that I made in about 2010. I still move in close and try to figure out how I did it. This painting of a street musician remains one of my favorites. It was done entirely in encaustic and I recall that I did a lot of scraping.

I published a book, Painting Faces in Encaustic, that I had to look at recently to see how I laid out the hot palette. Of course I had been using oils, almost exclusively last year.

Here's one that sold almost immediately out of a gallery. I must have been in an encaustic zone.

I seem to be out of any zone at the moment. I am awaiting 4 portrait commissions and perhaps it is better to let my muse rest, until it is time to begin those.