Playing around a bit

I am still on my encaustic adventure and loving every minute.
After talking with an artist friend of mine Pam, about encaustic painting she informed me that she was making some wax medium cakes the next day. I was so fortunate to get to go to her studio and soak in so much information.
All my raw materials have been ordered and I have been collecting everything I need to make my own paints. It is very expensive start up but if I paint like I want to I will not be able to afford that amount of paints I would need. Crossing fingers I mix up a good first batch as soon as everything gets here. Until then here is what I have been working on....

A few years ago my parents went to a yard sale and found a ton of leather working tools and stamps and this little letter press stamps for like $20. It was this mans kids selling his whole leather working studio full of tools and dyes. Well the cart that every thing was on was what my dad wanted so he gave us all the tools and neat stuff. I have 100's of stamps both letters and images and knew that I wanted to use them for something someday and I think I might have found the perfect non-traditional use for them. HOT WAX!!!! :)

First I dug out a bunch of sketchbooks I had been missing for a while. Scanned in this image of a moose I had drawn. Printed it out in archival inks and then cut it out. Here I am deciding where I want to encase it in wax on my gessoed board.

How about right here :)

Heating up wax....

Moose drawing is in...and then I came back in with some colored wax paints and really just dabbled some on. I had my letter stamps ready to be punched into the hot wax once I torched the last layer with the heat gun. Of course if you look close enough you will see that the "E" got punched in backwards which was not on purpose but I decided to roll with it.

Then I came back in and did a little carving. Rubbed on some black oil paint into the stamped/carved areas and then rubbed most of the extra oil paint off the surface. I love the depth the oil paints adds to the wax surface. I for see hours of fun in my future! ah

I am really happy with the end result. And this is my first Encaustic to be listed in my Etsy shop! yay
You can find "Moose" here.

I will be documenting my paint making very closely so keep an eye out for future posts on this! wheeeee (and as always thanks for stopping in).

Waxy goodness!

FINALLY...after over a year of wanting to learn how to do encaustic paints (bees wax based hot paints) I have finally arrived...well sort of. I still feel a little bit like I have no idea what I am doing. For the past month I have been collecting the various things I needed. First and foremost I had to order my paints. I found some incredible sample sized paints here at thebeesknees1234 on etsy. And wow did they give me a deal. I ordered the sample pack and they sent me 12 free sample sized colors as well b/c I was lucky enough to be their first customer. I seriously feel like a lucky duck and I know I will be back for more soon.

Once I got started yesterday I realized that I did not have any white/clear. I needed some quick so I ordered some from this wonderful shop Jamieribisi on etsy that I have been eying since I got this itching to do encaustic paintings. She offers some wonderful paintings herself and tutorials and very nice earthy colors! I know I will be back to her shop too as I think I am addicted to this style of painting (even though I have lots to learn still).

I spend an hour the night before getting all my duck in a row. I took all my new paints out of the packaging and sorted them by color before putting them in bowls. I had to find an adapter and extention cord so I could plug up my griddle, heat gun and fan.

Here are a couple of shots of my work table right before I got started...again still not quite sure what I am doing...ahhh)

Once I started the first piece, I realized that I will need to order more tins and better paint brushes...specifically for Encaustic painting. (note to self...still need to do that)

I went in with no plan at all as I had a limited time to work on these while my son was at preschool. I think once I get some clear/white in there I will be able to show some fabrics through a lot better. But wow did I have really enjoy doing this...even if I am not sure I will ever attemp to sell either of these pieces- LOL

This one I included some fabric under the wax, but b/c I did not have any clear I used the silver sort of like a white. I came back in and carved in this one a little bit. Still not sure it is totally done as I feel like it still need to be cleaned up some.
Good learning experience in the end and I can't wait to make more...with a little more a plan now that I know a more what to expect!

Finally here is a piece I finished last week. It is Gesso on wood...with the boy and dogs the natural wood. Then on top of the gesso is permanent marker in many abstract layers of flowing lines (so much fun!)
You can find the prints "A Day at the Park" HERE in my shop. My husband will not let me part with the original. I usually sell the ones he loves so I thought I would be nice this time. haha

Mud Puddles and Paper Hats

Being that my husband has been working his butt off lately, we finally had one full day with him home. He got back in town late last night so today being the treat that it was he went out this morning and brought back doughnuts! Yay

London thinks that it is someones (his) birthday now when we have doughnuts b/c that is what I brought to his school for his birthday (which I think was such a hit it will be tradition!).
Well at school they made him a crown and he wore it while they all ate their doughnuts. So as soon as we saw the chocolate frosted doughnut with sprinkles on it this morning he asked for a birthday hat and started singing. Scott whipped one up real quick with the classified ads and all was good! lol

mmmm

Now for the mud puddle action....

I think this is a fantastic picture of London. He was so happy to get out and get some fresh air. It rained on and off today and the sun came out on and off, but it was in the 60's so perfect weather for mud puddle jumping in your pj's!

Now London is very particular about what shoes he wears and will only wear a select few. But I told him it was rain boots or no outside today...he finally gave them a try. They were awesome as you can see in the photos! (thanks again granny and granddaddy for the rockin pirate boots!)

catching some air!

lookin cute with his drill and keys in hand

I have looked at these photos over and over and they just make me smile. Such a happy boy and so glad he loves being outside!

What a perfect Sunday! :)

I now have a 3 yr old...ahhh

One of London's b-day presents :)
London with his new buddy Scout. He takes him everywhere with him. The super cool thing is you can plug him up to the computer and program in your child's name and a few other fun things. (pretty neat huh?)

This is London's friend Bella and we play with her usually a couple times a week. Let's just say at night when London says his prayers he thanks God for Bella (heehee).

London's 3rd Birthday party

Here are a couple shots from his b-day party. I really did not take too many photos as I was running around all over the place. My friend took a few when London was opening presents. If you notice...he was pretty wore out by the end of the party. A lot going on for a 3 yr old! :)

Granny helped him eat one and 1/2 cup cakes...mmmmm.

We never seem to get many shots of Uncle Nate and Aunt Ginger with London so we tried to get him to smile. Like I said earlier he was really tired by the end of the day and had no expressions left. We could not get him to smile but trust me he had a great time.

London opening some presents. Scott and I assisting him.



Drum rollllllll.......

Here is the cake that Scott made and I decorated...it is supposed to be a flashlight. lol Really we just try to have a good time making his cake every year. People were coming in and had bets on what that cake theme was going to be. We try.... :)


Here are 2 new pieces I have made

"She sent her wishes out to the World" - original fabric on wood art now in my Etsy shop :)
I just bought this fabulous red fabric and had to use it ASAP!

"His hands in my Pocket" - original fabric on wood art.
I have been thinking about doing a "tall people" series. I have so many tall friends (and family members) that it just seems right. This is I guess the first of this possible series.
In this cold weather I am finding that the polyurethane takes longer to dry so I still need to get a clean, clear, crisp photo of this piece.

I am trying to get back into blogging a little bit more regularly. Hopefully I will be able too.
Be back soon!

Happy 2010!

Welcome to 2010!
Here is my first new piece after the flood of commissions I had this holiday season
She is called "Gathering - Green" and is fabric on wood (part of my "gathering girls" series)

I can't not believe that another year is gone....but I am looking forward to what 2010 will bring.
To bring in the New Year right I had to get one of Cathy Nichols calendars!
I love all of her work so I thought it would be fitting to have one of her calendars. This way I get to gaze at a new masterpieces of hers every month! ahhhh :)

If you get a chance please stop by her ETSY shop. She has been making beautiful encaustic paintings which I have been wanting to dabble in for over a year. I am slowly reading up on the process and hoping to start buying all the paints and heat gun and hot plate soon. Until then I love looking at hers and you do not know how close I have come to snatching one of her originals encuastic paintings up. They are truely stunning!


Here is a commission piece I just finished called "Continuing Love" It is for a sweet newly married couple (hope they like it) :)

And now for some shots of Mr. London. He loves to pose for the camera these days. He will be playing or doing something and as soon as he sees that camera he stops and smiles until the flash goes away. Hehe...such a little ham.

He also just turned 3 and learned how to open his own presents this year. It was a little confusing for him as his birthday is only a couple of days after Christmas. He thought he was going to have a present to open everday b/c we had let him open one early on Christmas eve. And one early before his birthay and then he has his birthday party on Sunday. Oh and then I am going to bring doughnuts to school on Tues. It is the never ending celebrations. lol

In the picture above we went to see daddy at work and have cake on his b-day. It was so sweet all Scott's co-workers gathered around and sang happy birthday for London. He loved it as you can see from the smile on his face.

After cake at daddy's office we headed over to the playground and then the arcade. That is what he wanted to do (and it was super windy and cold outside). Such a perfect day for a little boy who turned "1...2...freee"

Happy NEW YEAR ...I think it's going to be a good one!

Oh my Oh my

Yes, I have a little boy, but sometimes he wants to be like mommy and have a "ponytail" as he says. Yesterday was the first day in a week that he did not have diarrhea, a tummy ache and lack of appetite. Pretty much I gave in to him for simple request such as, "ponytail mommy!"

Above is us playing outside. If the ponytail fell out he would cry and beg for another. So silly.
Then below was later in the day. He took a nap and luckily I got him off of me and onto the couch so I could sneak in a quick shower (and let me tell you what a small wonder that is, usually I shower at 10 o'clock at night).

This season has been especially busy with custom orders. I love it but it has keep me very busy and I have not had much time to make my own art...but that's ok...not complaining!
I have put up a few and some I may have posted in progress or before so sorry if I have doubled up. I have one left to finish up, and I am not 100% sure I will get it done in time and most importantly shipped out in time, but it is for a friend of mine who is being very understanding. :)

Here we go....

"Willie Hour" - 24" x 32" fabric on wood

"Spanish Mackere" - 9" x 24" fabric on wood ...the cool thing about this piece is it is meant to hang over a doorway!

"Tree of Life" - 12" x 14 Fabric on wood

"Honeymoon" - 12" x 14" Fabric on wood

"I'll bring home the turkey if you bring home the bacon" - 12" x 14" fabric on wood (love the title of this one!)

"Simon in the Starlight Lounge" - 10" x 12" fabric on wood ( love this title too and this kitty just looks like the sweetest!)

Well there you have it. And I get to let out a big *SIGH* :)

Hope you all are getting ready for the holidays...they are almost here!