Canyon Dreams

Hallo,
  I finally finished this big pair of paintings. They are 24 by 36 inches.
  First - which is not pictured - I put 2 /3 layers of about 12 different colors onto these cradled boards, with cooper being the last layers, and blue being the first layers. That process took about 12 hours total all and a boatload of wax!!!
  I used a 10 pound bag of plain wax alone(used to prime the boards and then mixed with the concentrated colored wax to get the desired color concentration) - a 10 pound bag of plain wax is 182 $$ - I also used about 2/3 bricks of  about 8 colors - each brick costing 20 to 40 dollars depending on the color.
  Next I started carving into the wax to make the rivers - and that took about 22/24 hours total.
Its really cool to do and see all the layers come out!!!
  Last major step was adding texture to the top flat parts where I didn't carve. Many, many layers painted with a cooling brush and lightly fused to keep the bumps - another 8/10 hours on that, along with adding a bit of green and yellow to the top textures to look kinda like fall tree leaves.
  Another hour or 2 to clean up the side and put wire on to hang them with and thet will be going in the mail this week.
  It will be my first time mailing one of my encaustic paintings and they are BIG and a bit heavy from all the layers too.
  I hope my friend in Chicago will enjoy them - can't wait to see picks of them on her wall!!!
      All for today - tons of pics - enjoy!!
             Take Care
                     Tera

Before and after...

Hallo,
   Just a quick post this evening - you have seen the first picture before but I hung it up in the gallery and kept thinking it just needed a bit more...something..
   So today I decided to put a bit of shellac on it - amber shellac and did a burn. Not as heavy with the shellac as with "Wind and Fire" but left the 'holes a bit bigger and didn't put much shellac on the leaves themselves so they could still be seen pretty well.
  I really think it was just what it needed.
  Cold and kinda dreary here in NW Florida today but it was a good day to work in the studio, and we had a lot of visitors today too which was nice!!!
   All for now - Take Care
        Tera

Wind and fire

Hallo,
  2 days in a row - wow!!! Todays painting was done exactly the same as yesterdays but at the end I added a layer of amber shellac and let it dry for about 10/15 minutes and then took a torch to it, making all the swirly bubbles.
  The only difference between the first picture today and the second is a change in the lighting. That is one of the wonderful things about the wax - you see new things from every angle and every change in the light, so cool!!!
  All for today am off to work....
    Take Care
       Tera

Red leaves in the turquoise sunrise

Hallo,
  Been neglecting the blog again for awhile...just not enough time, and if a bit of time, no energy...
  I did 3 paintings last week to turn in to the current show at Artel art gallery in Pensacola. My great encourager Linda Kernick has been telling me for some time that I need to join and enter some of their shows.
  Well I took 3 paintings over there and 1 got in the show which is awesome(because they jury tightly so its hard to get in) and on top of that the painting won an award for "Most experimental' - I will show it to you tomorrow.
  Both this painting and tomorrows started out the same. I started with an 18 by 24 inch cradled board and put 3 layers of clear wax as a base.
  Next I painted 3 colors/shades of turquoise for the background - the darkest shade at the bottom.
   Next I did 3 layers of leaves (yellow=ginko, red is from various trees in my yard and around my neighborhood) - with a clear wax layer or 2 in between each layer.
   The side are painted black.
                                                                                 That is where I stopped with this painting. I was trying for more of a wind swirled effect with the leaves and didn't quite make what I wanted but I really like how it turned out anyhow!!

All for today- going to sit and do some reading on my computer...I ran a few errands today, an got my hair cut and permed, walked the pups (Tom walked them early this am as I couldn't seem to wake up...and then I got a walk this afternoon), between the 2 of us Tom and I did a couple loads of laundry, and he ran to Pensacola for me to pick up the 2 paintings that didn't get in the show at Artel.
  Still have to make the bed and start something for super but first some reading...
   Take Care
      Tera