My Encaustic Palettes

For encaustic figurative and portrait painting, my hot palette is laid out the same as my oil painting palette; naples yellow, yellow ochre, cadmiun red light, cadmiun red medium, saguine earth deep, (from R&F paints), white, and sap green. Sometimes, I add purple. I use oil paint straight out of the tube and some powered pigments.

extra encaustic medium for mixing colors on the palette

I plug the hole in the electric griddle with Bondo so the melted medium floats on the surface rather than drains out.

For abstract painting and the encaustic workshops, I have basic color palettes that include, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, yellow ochre, turquoise (this is usually a favorite color for my students) ultramarine blue, black, yellow, alizarin crimson, alizarin orange, (one of my favorite colors) and white. Often I include orange and a red brown. I get some the colors from R&F paints. I love the gorgeous colors and saturation. I also make many of my colors by adding powdered pigments to the clear medium. Using those, you must be careful to wear gloves and a mask. I also do that before the class.

Two people share a palette

Close up of a palette with more than the basic colors. It depends on what the student wants

The can in the lower left is paraffin to clean encaustic tools

I Had A Good Start. Painting My First Abstract

When I was in art school, where I majored in painting and minored in advertising art, I was such a young, full of myself art student that I was sure that I could continue to ace all my classes without spending the 3 hours in class that was required. I often spent the first hour at a coffee shop with my boy friend talking about "deep philological questions and solutions"

When I did show up for class, the first semester was a breeze for me. We only could work in black and white; pencil , charcoal and ink. I appreciate my classical training. We drew every bone in the hanging skeletons, I carefully rendered each kernel on a corn cob, and worked from plaster molds.

Pencil drawing of a pot done in 1952

This was fun for me. I didn't understand why everyone couldn't draw. People asked me,  "how can you draw like that?" My casual answer was, "just look at something and draw what you see". Not so easy for everyone. It took me many years to understand that most people just look at things, but do not see them. Drawing can teach people to really see.

I now offer an online course drawing and painting faces: https://tinyurl.com/ycz6drad

 I finally did get my comeuppance in the second semester when a professor taught me more than all the rest of my time in art schools. Our assignment was to paint our first abstract painting...

 It was so long ago that strict rules applied to all freshman girls living in a sorority. I got caught talking on the phone after 11 pm and was punished by the sorority leaders by grounding me for the weekend.( I Can't imagine that happening in this era.) I used that quiet lonely time to work on the assignment.  As I worked on the painting on the floor of my room, suddenly I understood negative space, painting around objects and creating shapes that were more interesting than the still life.  (I painted in Casein, the water-based paint before acrylics became popular.) I was thrilled!

Upon entering the art lab on Monday, I proudly approached Mr. Lunch, my favorite teacher to show him my finished painting. He said, "You have a good start" I couldn't believe my ears. I was dumbfounded. What else was there to do? Sensing my defiant mood, Mr. Lynch poured paint on my "finished painting"

After another 6 hours of working and taking crying breaks in the hall, I approached him again and meekly asked, "Is it finished yet?" He said, "You have a good start" I was too exhausted and humbled to cry when he continued, "Do you realize how few people in this school ever have a good start? You won't get an A on this one. And, don't get married!"

The painting. It ended up in the year end show as an example of the best freshman work in the school. i got a B- on it.

Tomorrow is the day

It will be interesting to see who comes to our open studio/ pillow show room tomorrow. It is off season in San Miguel, but I am hoping that San Miguel regulars will stop in. 

Many of the pillows have been moved from the upstairs show/work room to be placed "on site" downstairs. 

I plan on doing an encaustic demo. I actually got my studio clean after last week's workshops.

We have also been busy with pets going to the vet. Our rescue dog was neutered yesterday. We have been caring for her for almost 3 weeks and the problem is that we have fallen in love with her. She is the dearest dog I have ever met and I pray that she will be in a loving home soon. Our old Boxer has skin cancer and an infected ear, and I fear my old cat is ill and wanting to leave this planet.

Open Studios

I am looking forward to opening my studio and Cynthia Hamilton's show room on May 16th. You and your friends are welcome.

Joaquin Piñiero, a well know local painter woking in mixed media and encaustic will also have examples of his work here. Joaquin was my first encaustic student almost 14 years ago. He has taken the medium and made it his own in his strong, personal art.

There will be 20% off of any of my available paintings and 20% off of the Once Upon My Pillow, one of a kind, eco-friendly, hand embroidered, decorated pillows. The sale is good for that day.
I offer time payments, without interest.

directions to studio/gallery: http://www.ezshwan.com/directions-to-studio.html

Advanced Encaustic Techniques

If you have been following my bog for a while, you probably have noticed that I have several online classes. Here is one for those who can't make it to San Miguel de Allende to take classes with me :https://vimeo.com/ondemand/4167

Encaustic lends itself to many different techniques, and is beautiful on its own. Below are just some of the many techniques I have used in encaustic.

Just have fun, experiment, and make sure you do not use any acrylic.

encaustic and oil glazes

encasutic over water color on paper

ink wash, charcoal, encaustic,

collage, pan pastel, encasutic

detail of water spray into encaustic for lava-like texture

countless layers of colored encaustic, drawing with charcoal and hours of scraping

encaustic over tissue paper collage and texture built up with a hot pen

stained support, layers of encaustic, small collage and carved figures into the encaustic.

detail of melting encaustic over encaustic and oil

charcoal dust in between layers of encasutic

detail of encaustic stenciling 

carved encaustic over contrasting painted layers. 

encaustic on paper

encaustic with cold wax stenciling

encaustic, oil paint and shellac burn

Why Do I Keep going Back To Encaustic?

I have been going in several creative directions this year. I haven't settled on a series yet. You can see the variety of work that I have made at: http://www.ezshwan.com/2018-paintings.html

Finishing a portrait in oil last month, I made some more cold wax paintings, but my favorite, so far has been the "Really Red" encaustic painting. See above, alongside the Tattoo painting. The red painting is really hard to photograph because of the many layers of shiny red encaustic. I did contrast the shine with mat cold wax.

It was over 20 years ago that I fell in love with the encasutic technique when I saw it in a gallery in Portland OR.  The surfaces of the abstract paintings were like nothing I had ever seen. I left that gallery thinking, “I must find out how to do that.” There was little technical information about encaustic available at that time. I went to a Barnes and Noble, bookstore searching the shelves looking for information on encaustic. I realized later that the technical information that I found was wrong. It was the formula for cold wax, lots of stuff that should never be heated. I made mistakes, even using acrylic gesso on the supports and then having whole paintings slide off the surfaces when I returned to my Oregon studio on a sunny day.

Now we are inundated with encaustic info, some of it illuminating and beneficial, and some of it just wrong. I shutter at some of the “how to” encaustic videos I have seen. Anyone can post a YouTube video, or an online class after taking a workshop and become an instant teacher, but some of these people are not making archival work or using true encaustic. Just another reason that I love teaching encaustic workshops.

I am sorry that I can now longer access my workshop blog, so please check out the class workshop on my website, if you are interested: http://www.ezshwan.com/classes-and-workshops.html

I meet people on the street and am often greeted by, “You’re Ezshwan the encaustic artist!” I smile and avoid explaining that I can do more than paint in encaustic; however I am also flattered that I have made a name for myself with my exhibitions and classes.

The Many Lives of An Encaustic Painting

I started this painting some time in early February and it sat leaning on the studio wall for weeks. I did take 9 days off to visit the Yucatan and have been working on other paintings as well.It had many changes. I started off with oil paint that I applied with my gloved hands. That was fun and freeing, but there is not sign of the the original surface anymore.

Can you help me with a name other than "Really Red" ?

First stage. Oil paint on cradled board

Now I am into several days of applying encaustic; going back and forth from this painting, the commissioned portrait and 2 other paintings.

The surface is now covered with many, many layers of encasutic. It can't get much redder!

To break up the beautiful shiny surface, I stenciled oil and cold wax on top of the encaustic. I like the mat texture that contrasts with the bright encaustic

detail