November Has Been a Good Month

 6 paintings and a print were sold in November.  I am completely recovered from the E-coli infection and parasites in the blood. I had been feeling listless, exhausted, with a daily headache and a queasy stomach. I didn't have the energy to create or plan future workshops. I felt as if some old person had taken over my body. I didn't know why until the lab tests.

Well, I am back, excited to make new paintings and to welcome students to my classes in encaustic; both beginning and advanced and oil and cold wax. I am even considering offering portrait painting in encasutic.

Tomorrow, I am off to Veracruz for 9 days. Life is good.

Encaustic Diptych

Oil and Encaustic on panel

Encaustic diptych

oil and encaustic on panel

6 paintings and a print were sold in November.  I am completely recovered from the E-coli infection and parasites in the blood. I had been feeling listless, exhausted, with a daily headache and a queasy stomach. I didn't know why until the lab tests.

A print of this painting was sold by Saatchi gallery

Not Too Pretty Anymore

If you saw my last post, you know I was not satisfied with the latest White Glove series. ( I am going to have to change the name, since I want to include black gloves also.)
I took a week's break from painting; 2 days for private  encaustic students, see  ezshwan.blogspot.com.
Then I took a few days off to nurse a sore throat. Today I got back in the studio and "unprettyed" several paintings.

beginning

Today- more work on this one tomorrow

working on 4. It's best that way so I don't over work,

from this...

to this.

Everything Is For Sale

I am often asked if I have a hard time parting with my work No. I am delighted when a collector chooses one or more of my paintings.

I ,along with my daughter Cynthia, have put in a lot of time and travel getting ready for this Sunday's art reception at the latest gallery in a beautiful new hotel about an hour from San Miguel de Allende.

I have had several favorite paintings in my private collection for a few years and now I am ready to publicly show them again and I am adding them to this Sunday's encaustic show. If you are in the area, please stop by to see Cynthia's and my paintings and a collection of one of a kind, up cycled pillows. There will be something for everyone.

The New Car

detail of The New Car

reception room of Hotel La Villa de Pozos

announcement

The Street Musician

With Arms Wide Open

Take This and Make it Yours

Preparing for the show/sale last week, I uncovered older work, press releases from long ago and reviews that I haven't seen in years.

I had a feeling of satisfaction revisiting years and years of work. Of course I am happy that many of my paintings went to new homes. Visual artists make art to be seen and shared.

One of my favorite paintings done about 1995 - (I wish I would have dated all my work,) reminded me of a comment made to me shortly after I moved to San Miguel de Allende in 2004. After hearing a bit about my previous life, a new friend asked me if I have ever had therapy. The answer was no. It was then that I realized that my art has been my therapy. This painting, see below, is from a series I made called, "Her Journey",about a woman's desire to be self realized, whole, and free from feminine stereotypes. The name of this painting is "My God Has Been Too Small"

I still have the wonderful comments from the International Art Review about this series;

"Ezshwan is one of those rare people who has the ability to take her very personal life experiences and speak them to others in a way that not only allows ownership but encourages it. Her paintings say to you, 'Here, take this and make it yours' They are not threatening, they do not leave you feeling like you are the only person in the room who can not understand. Her work is a warm, comforting embrace"
"I know in the art world what i am about to say cloud almost be considered the kiss of death, but I'm going to say it anyway;Ezshwan's work is beautiful. Ezshwan, I know would argue with me, but I beg to differ. These pieces are works you would want to bring into and incorporate into your lie and home, as many have done. I will concur with Ezshwan that her work porobaly would not match your sofa, but beyond that, who among us has never loved a woman? In her paintings you see your friends, your sisters, maybe yourself. You can not help but to see a profound and deeply personal spiritual journey played out before you."

"Blessed Am I Among women"

I Open My Hand and Let Go

How I made a figurative encasutic painting

This painting, Sewing in Chiapas, almost painted itself. I was working from a photograph that I took on a visit to San Christobal de Las Casas. It was for a solo show for a gallery entitled "A Time of Witness" influenced by  my respect for the women of Mexico. This particular encaustic image took a different turn. I used transfers of slain Zapatistas, and images of Palenque throughout the background and the woman's clothing. They are purposely subtle. I just wanted the suggestion of the woman's history, not a photographic display. I then added oil stain and colored encausitc and scraped back with a razor blade to the under lying layers for the highlights. A black china marker reinforced the black details.

This painting sold Wednesday night. I especially was attached to this one  and was happy to have it go to its new home.

What Do I do When I am Not Painting

I do make abstract art; encasutic on board; 90 x 120 cm

Hello My Friends,

It is not easy to close the door to the studio and walk away; except for when I am teaching.

I spent most of 2015 painting everyday and this year I finished 10 paintings in my new series, "Memories" Before I hit a burn out, I am clearing my mind, working online marketing and am opening to new inspiration.

I love painting figures. When I was a lot younger, photographs or paintings of landscapes left me questioning " Where are the people?" Some abstract or non-objective paintings leave me asking, "Why"?

Encaustic painting, in my opinion, has almost become a fad or cult. It is such fun to put a torch to an encasutic surface and see the paint marbleize, but again, in my opinion. a lot of this work looks like colorful vomit.

I have gone back through my older work with a critical eye. Some hold up and others are not things I want to put out in the world, now or after I die.

Before I get abstract artists jumping on my back, I appreciate and admire abstract art; the kind of art that touches my heart. I have a feeling I want to make some abstracts again when I go back to the studio.

I have updated my website, so all the new work is there: http://www.ezshwan.com

I do things other than painting. I volunteer for Feed the Hungry.  For over 10 years, I have gone to the Warehouse early Saturday mornings to help pack dry food for the over 4000 school children we feed nutritious lunches every school day These are children who would not eat otherwise.

Sundays are an other early start. Our meditation service starts at 8:30 am. Our group is Self Realization Fellowship. We rent the Buddhist center on Sunday mornings and transform it with flowers and pictures of our gurus.

If you have an interest in reading my memoir, you can down load it from Amazon. You do not need a Kindle. It can be downloaded to other devices:
 Fireworks at Dawn"  The story of my life, available in digital form.  It is never too late to live your dream. This is the story of how I changed from an older widow, subsisting on food stamps to a recognized artist, living in joy, peace and fellowship. I moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico when I was 70 years old and started life all over again.

Fireworks at Dawn takes the reader on a journey of my life, that can appear like a roller coaster; through betrayals and blessings to this delightful last chapter of my life. 
http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Memoir-Fireworks-Dawn-ebook/dp/B008G371SC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415378608&sr=1-1&keywords=Ezshwan+Winding 

I have one painting in a group show that opened yesterday. Encaustic on board

I am working with an app that places images of my paintings in room settings

What is Art?

Please click on the link to see my latest newsletter
http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=499e878e3427fdac96a71b51f&id=39e4923487

The Rewards of All That Work

March is women's history month and our show is part of that energy.

Months of work went into the open house we had last Sunday. My daughter, Cynthia Hamilton created our living room into a showroom for her pillow designs, "Once Upon My Pillow" and I showed my series" Women Who Change the World" to the public for the first time.

All the pillows are made from recycled natural fabrics, hand embroidered

Patti uses her treadle machine to construct the pillows. She has no electricity and can only work during daylight hours. Her husband has been without work, so she supports her family with her sewing

Candaleria does the hand embroidery so she can be home with her daughters

Just a few of the 90 pillows that were on display

Cynthia said “I created Once Upon My Pillow from a long-felt desire to do my part, my part for my community, for my fellow-woman, and for the environment.  With the help of women in San Miguel, and under my guidance, we created these pillows from cashmeres, silks, cottons, and the most unique trims and buttons, to design and make one-of-a-kind, boutique, pillow cases, all hand-made from 100% recycled materials. I had a desire to help local women work from home; stay close to their children, and explore and expand their natural creativity; hand embroidering and sewing with a treadle sewing machine, using 100% recycled materials.  I do most of the cutting and all of the designs and encourage my Mexican assistants to use their creativity.”

The attention that goes into each pillow is similar to a Chanel jacket but without the price tag.


Her Mexican assistants lives have become interwoven with hers. Of course it is challenging and time consuming for her to find the perfect garments to cut up to make beautiful designer pillows; however these are pillows with a purpose.

Ezshwan researched for months, deciding whom she would include in this series. ”I learned much about women that I knew of only superficially. I choose women whom I thought made significant changes in our world. There are many more, but I focused on 15. I could have continued indefinitely, but I felt it was time to move on to a new series.”

Process of a New Painting

Do you remember the painting that I destroyed? I scraped off as much encaustic as possible and covered it as well as I could with milk paint, and started a new one.

Here is the process of the last several days:

You can see the ghost of the other painting

ink wash on milk paint

Iwill make some corrections on the drawing and I can start putting on the layers of encaustic

Grandma's Photo in the Attic

When I was a child, there was a large photo of my Mother's mother on the wall in the attic. My grandmother died before I was born, but I visited that image often and hoped she could hear my conversation and connect with me.

This painting is the second in my Remembrances series. The photo of Grandma is long gone, but this has been inspired by those memories of our time spent together.

It is 60 x 80 cms. ink, encaustic, charcoal and oil paint on cradled board. @Artfinder.