Life Drawings

 Here are some sketches from more than a year ago when I was able to work from a model once a week. There is nothing like working from life, and an important exercise if one wants to work figuratively.

Conté crayon on tinted paper

Conté on tortilla paper.

Click on the link below to see more drawings.

http://www.flipsnack.com/mx/my-flipbooks/details?flip=ftcf63jpg

5 Artists Whose Work I Admire

Since I been working figuratively most of this year and want to stretch my technique, I have been impressed with images I have found on the Internet. I am thrilled to see younger artists (everybody is younger than I), painting exciting, fresh  figurative painting. It hasn't been that long ago that I was critized for making art that was not angry. I'm glad to have lived long enough to witness the resurgence of brilliant figurative paintings. I realize that these paintings below are all done by men. I know there are fantastic woman painters, making powerful, fresh art. I will find them.

http://www.colindavidson.com/

http://ryanhewett.com/

http://www.andrewsalgado.com/info;

http://www.jeromelagarrigue.com/

http://www.guydenning.org/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

video of my process

If you want to see the newly posted video, please go to my FaceBook page. https://www.facebook.com/Ezshwans-paintings-132813546782502/

encaustic figures and faces

Here I used oil glazes over several layers of encasutic; added transfers, that I muted with the torch and scraped into the painting for the highlights.

I have received some questions about painting figuratively in encaustic. I am not an encasutic artist. I am an artist using what every medium that I think will provide the solution to the artistic challenges I give myself.
I have worked in encaustic for 15 years, and oil, 60 years. Below are some examples of how I work in figuratively in encaustic.

This is one of the first figurative encaustic paintings I did about 9 years ago.

This was for a solo show of Mexican women. Note, I strive to use the hot, liquid encasutic paint to drip and layer. I did plenty of scraping in the background

This is still one of my favorites. I painted over another encaustic painting. I love the texture that added.

New Painting, oil over encasutic

I am able to spend an hour a day in the studio now. The pain and exhaustion of Shingle is lessening.

I am continuing with my series; Women Who Changed the World. This one is Rachael Carson.

As with all of this series, I am painting over older encaustic paintings that no longer hold any interest for me. I fuse the first coupe of layers of oil over the encasutic to permanently bond with the back ground. This requires very good ventilation and I wear a mask.

I will be making at least one video of the entire process of how I work. Below, is the starting place; a non-object color study  in encaustic, and yesterday's work. I am almost finished, jut need to work on her hair and the background.

Wow, Here is Progress

Last week's oil portrait

José Luis at work in my studio

Looks what he did in 3 classes - that is only 3 hours

I have a student that comes for a class ONE HOUR a week. He gets it! José Luis, has been painting abstracts for some time now. He has studied with a local artist and has created some interesting paintings with lots of texture; but José Luis wanted to learn how to draw and particularly figures and faces. He started coming to me in May. Just look what he has accomplished!

This and the one below are a couple of his first attempts of drawing faces.

An improvement

moving on to conté crayon

pencil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't finished

This is one of paintings that challenged me. I walked away from it 2 days in a row. thinking "That's finished" only to walk into the studio yesterday and thought, "No, it is not" Probably wasn't a good idea to work when there is still a lot of pain. I wanted to work to take my mind away from this body.

Women Who Changed The World, Benizar Bhutto

 From the encaustic abstract to the finished portrait. To see the whole process check out my Face Book page https://www.facebook.com/Ezshwans-paintings-132813546782502/timeline/

And All That Jazz

I spent 12 years drawing and painting just jazz musicians. I traveled with my husband and often was give press passes to go back stage or as in the Nice, France jazz festival to go anywhere as long as I did not block the audience from the performers. I worked live and sketched fast. I don't think I could do that now, I'd have to practice for some time. I drew in ink and then back in the studio , I transformed the best of them into paintings. I stopped that long series a few of years after my husband died; however I returned a couple of years ago just to make several encaustic on paper paintings.

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Work from my archives

Here are some faces in encaustic that I made several years ago. They were just a part of my series. "Time of Witness" ; my tribute to the wisdom of the Mexican woman. I made 13 of these faces of my friends and neighbors.

Process of new paintings

I have been able to spend an hour or 2 in the studio the past few days. It helps me to take my mind off the itching and pain of this disease. I am moving into the 4th week of shingles with little change and I need to have a reason to get dressed every morning.

The sunset painting as under painting still shows

The first couple of layers of oil must be fused into the encaustic to make a permanent bond.