It’s day 6 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days. The paintings I’ve been creating lately, including the one today, seem simple. So I thought I would describe the process I go through to create these pieces.
“Below the Glacier I” actually started last weekend when I backpacked and camped at the base of 3 Fingered Jack in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. On my trip I hiked to the glacier and glacial lake on 3 Fingered Jack. I used this photo from my experience as color inspiration for the painting:
While I was backpacking and hiking I was constantly looking around for interesting bits from the forest. That is where I found the cracked and curved tree branch I used in this painting. I covered 9 miles during this adventure to get what I needed for the painting.
Once I have my inspiration and found object (tree branch) I head to the studio to work. There I heat up a beeswax mixture in a fry daddy (yep! the kind you use to make french fries at home). I mix the liquid wax with oil paints to create the color I want. I use blue painters tape around my wood canvas to create a reservoir and position the tree branch on the panel. Then I pour the pigmented wax around the tree branch and wait until the wax sets back to solid form. From there I remove the tape and paint the edges of the wood panel with an acrylic based stain. And voila, the piece is finished!
DETAILS:
“Below the Glacier I”
6 x 6 inches
encaustic and tree branch on wood panel
Origin: 3 Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon
$90
click here to purchase
The paintings I create during the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge will be included in my NATURE CURATED series which captures the essence of place by encapsulating carefully chosen mementos nature has seemingly left behind in a thick bed of pigmented encaustic wax. To create these paintings I explore the ocean shore and forest floor to find the perfect, unique objects (shells, pine cones, driftwood and stones) to embed in a luscious layer of wax. All of these natural objects tells the story of its origin, like the smooth edges on driftwood illustrates the journey it took undulating back and forth against the rough ocean shore. Each three-dimensional fine art painting is unique, signed by me, ready to hang and includes the place of origin.
