The Power of Red SD 480p

Living a passionate life

People have asked me how I do it? How can an old woman,like me, be so energertic, happy and creative? Some have even said that I was an inspiration. These comments made me stop and think about my life, my history, life path, peace and joy. To share the story of my life, I have begun to write on Substack. These sharings come from my life experiences and from editing from my 3 books; "Fireworks at Dawn", my menoir, "The Power of Color" and "Better Than Before'. If you are interested please sign up at Substack. It is free.

Reworking paintings

I am still finding more items to be donated as part of my Swedish Death Cleaning and now pulling out older paintings that don't satisfiy me. When I drop this body, I do not want to leave any art that I am not proud of. Today I posted some reworked portraits that satisfy me more that the origials. Click on the website link to see the changes and let me know what you think.

Swedish Death Cleaning

While having lunch with a friend recently, I mentioned my efforts to declutter my home, ensuring that my daughters won’t have to sift through my belongings after I’m gone. She responded, “Oh, that’s ‘Swedish Death Cleaning.’” Initially, that sounded quite dark, but I realized it perfectly describes my process. This term refers to removing unnecessary items and creating an orderly home as we become more conscious of life’s impermanence, according to Margareta Magnusson, who is, in her words, aged between 80 and 100. She is the author of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning and The Swedish Art of Aging. In Sweden, this decluttering practice is called döstädning, with “dö” meaning “death” and “städning” meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out belongings can be undertaken at any age and should ideally happen sooner rather than later—before others have to take on that task for you. Last year, I moved from a large house that I shared with one of my daughters to a cozy country cottage with a separate art studio. During that transition, I donated what seemed like carloads of clothes, drawings, studio tables, paint, substrates, shelving, small paintings, and appliances to a local charity. However, I retained most of my art supplies and hundreds of cherished photos, many depicting my life with Kai Winding, jazz musicians, and of course, my family. After my last birthday, I confronted the reality that much of my life lies behind me, and I created the Encaustic Academy, http://vimeo.com/ondemand/theencausticacademy featuring 14 digital encaustic classes to share my techniques and experiences. Now, I’m looking at a collection of paintings in storage that deserve to be seen and appreciated by collectors. I am planning a gallery exhibition here in San Miguel in February titled “The Legacy of Inspiration.” While I haven’t selected the paintings yet, all will be offered at sale prices. Additionally, there will be an online sale, likely in January, where I will either provide free shipping or a 30% discount. Be sure to check my posts for updates on the sale, or visit my website to see if there’s art you’d like to add to your collection: www.ezshwan.com.

Temporary Introductory price on the Encaustic Academy

The online classes / The Encaustic Academy/

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The Upcoming Encaustic Academy

I have been working many weeks creating a new digital class; The Encasutic Academy The Encaustic Academy seems like a great way to share my passion for encaustic art and mygv extensive knowledge with others. I was inspired to take time for self-reflection and have chosen to focus on leaving a legacy through my art and teaching. Creating a digital class with diverse techniques can help many people explore their creativity and develop their skills in encaustic painting. Sharing my tips and memories will add a personal touch that can resonate deeply with my students. Here are some examples of some of some of the finished paintings in the classes.

There is an Oak forest not far from San Miguel de Allende

If you've visited or heard about San Miguel de Allende, you're aware that this beautiful town has once again been voted the best city in the world by Travel and Leisure Magazine. It is situated in the high desert in central Mexico. I don't need to tell you about the beauty, art, and climate of San Miguel, but did you know that within a two-hour drive, there are oak forests of magical beauty, tranquility, and mushrooms? Yesterday, I treated myself to a special birthday present by joining a group to travel to the forest to forage for wild mushrooms. I learned that Mexico is second in the world, after China, in producing more varieties of wild mushrooms than any other country. It was an unforgettable day, leaving San Miguel at 8 in the morning for a full day in the forest, discovering mushrooms with Arif Twons Alonso of "Simbiosis" SMA. He is an expert in all kinds of mushrooms. In addition, a chef participated in creating a three-course lunch for all of us based on mushrooms. The first 2 photos show the forest where we forged mushrooms. #3 photo is the chef surving the appitizers as we combined our collected mushrooms on a tarp, so Arif could identify them.The edible ones were placed at the top of the tarp and the toxic ones at the bottom right. It seems we collected more toxic ones than edible. A lot depends on the weather conditions. Photo #5 The last photo is the mushroom named "The Angel of Death" and that one is deadly poison, but beautiful. If you are interested in the incredible healing properties for humans and the planet, I encourage you to investigate this incredible non-plant online.

Process of an encaustic, abstract painting

I am a Featured Artist on Artsy Shark

Please click on the link below to see the article. I am pleased to

have been chosen. I have worked many years as an artist and teacher. This is a special honor, I have added a just finished painting that is not shown in the article. Many layers and many days of work. This encaustic painting is availale, 24' x 32"

Make an offer

Dear Friends, I am inspired to make new paintings. I feel the urge to create more monochromatic encaustic and cold wax paintings, so I am suggesting that you make an offer on these figurative paintings; 16" x 20", mixed media on wrapped canvas

Temporary Studio Sale

Dear friends and collectors, I would like to create more new work this year and want to make room for more paintings, so I am offering 12 selected paintings at 50% off the retail price. click on the website link for details:

This is a temporary sale, so please check it out.

The Workshops Continue

The past two months I have been meeting interesting new friends and artists and giving both cold wax and ensautic workshops, almost back to back.I feel blessed to be able to share all my expereince and techniques of working with wax.It pleases me to see that each person makes a different, personal painting. If you want detailed information on the workshops, please see my website ezshwan.com Here are some photos of some of the participants.

Scheduling workshops for 2024

How quickly time is flying by. I have had many workshops in this new year and there seems to be renewed interest in cold wax and oil classes and of course the excaustic workshops continue.

I no longer post dates for the classes, but schedule around the dates that the creatives choose. Those are my private classes and there are also sign-ups from Trip Advisor and Vawaa. I have been so busy that I have litte time to make new paintings, but 5 of my encasutic abstract paintings have been part of a group show in Gallery Calderoni, in San Miguel de Allende since December. Sales are good

It is a privilege to meet many new people that wish to expand their creativity both in the studio and in the gallery.

Contact me to schedule your workshop: and check out the workshop details and photos at my webssite

Cold Wax and oil Workshops

I love teaching these workshops,meeting new people, seeing their artistic expansion, if they have painting experience or not. We use color and more color. The world can seem dark and intense. Let's add love, light and playfulness in out art and lives