Today was a beautiful day for a drive to Baltimore Woods Nature Center, 4001 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus, New York 13108. I went to visit the Drawing on Talent art exhibit. My painting, Mariposa, (above) is on display along with a variety of artwork by several other artists.
The show continues through December 16, 2025.
In addition to the art venue, there is a gift shop in the building. Outside you’ll find miles and miles of hiking trails.
Artwork is for sale with a percentage going to the nature center. Call (315) 673-1350 for more information including hours of operation or visit their website here.
I’ve been busy reworking some of these paintings. They are now complete and I am very pleased with them. I thought you might like to view these before and after pictures and see which paintings changed.
Next up, buying more 8″ x 10″ canvases (they are actually hardboards), as well as beeswax, encaustic cakes and possibly, frames. I feel like I should continue on this floral journey. New floral shapes are percolating.
I trust my living room rug is not horribly distracting. I wanted to do a quick update on The Lotus Series. I want to say they are finished – or I will say they are curing, resting on my dining room table so that I can look at them every day. Do they need more or can I put this series to rest? (That’s me asking myself, by the way).
I am delighted with them. And the beeswax is intoxicating. They smell good! My last series, Fan – Girl, ended up being this crazy six dozen strong group of 8″ x 8″ paintings. These are 8″ x 10″. Do I make thirty-six more?
I used to paint one dozen units in a series. Then it was two dozen, six dozen and now three dozen. While the fans were a dozen each of one shape, these are three each of a dozen shapes.
I will photograph them individually; maybe I’ll do that tomorrow. They are already titled too. I’d love to get them framed but that will have to wait until I decide whether or not I will continue the series.
Decisions, decisions….
So glad I documented my progress! I love seeing the evolution of the process. Some of the pieces were reworked quite a bit and others were pretty much nailed from the start. The paintings seem to tell me what they want; what they want to be/wish to be. It’s a vibe.
Here is the flyer for the Member’s Exhibit at Baltimore Woods. The reception is on Sunday, November 2, 2025 from 2:30 – 4:00 PM. The show will run from November 1, 2025 to December 16, 2025.
I am exhibiting this butterfly painting. Baltimore Woods Nature Center is located at 4007 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus, New York 13108.
I spent the day selling artwork at this Harvest Festival at The Neat Whiskey Bar, 6706 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville, New York 13078. The event included music, alcoholic beverages, food trucks and art. There were nine of us settled into a brand new event center.
Thank you to my fellow artists for a wonderful day (noon – 6:00 PM) and to all the amazing patrons. I enjoyed sharing my art with you.
I’ve got a couple of group exhibitions coming up. Stay tuned!
Part of me thinks I should not share unfinished work. I am 100% not looking for criticism, help or anything in that realm. I’m sharing because I thought it might be fun to explore the progression of my work for myself and for those who like that sort of thing.
If you saw my last post about this series, you will notice some changes. I thought the stencil details were too busy and that I attribute to me getting into my head about what I think people would want (i.e. a nature inspired gallery) and what is authentic to me and my style.
I eliminated stems as well, and the little buds. I reworked the paper collage items and added more colors.
I ordered more encaustic paints from dickblick.com. I think they’ll be here Monday, if not sooner. I really needed to incorporate more blues into my palette. The original concept for these paintings was blue lotus flowers but I branched out into pink, yellow and white territory plus a few other more abstract choices.
I haven’t smoothed out any of the applications via a heat source. I will re-carve the lines of the iconography eventually, add more color, do the more textured bits and finally, make decisions in the found object assemblage department.
I painted for six hours today. When I am creating, it feels like the most important thing in the world. I feel very impatient, like, I wish I had all the supplies I need right now. But really, I just need fresh air and time to decompress in order to prepare for the next step.
It begins with thumbnail sketches. Actually, it starts with a bit of research then sketches.
I then create stencils, prepare the hardboards with three coats of beeswax, carve the stencils into the wax…
add pretty papers…
and begin painting. Once all the boards have first coats, I give them individual attention.
Finally, I add more collage components.
I’m taking a break right now because what usually happens is that I want to do everything right away instead of savoring the process. Encaustic is not an instant gratification type thing. And as much as I have the image of a finished product in my head, there are a lot of happy accidents that occur along the way.
What has already happened is the classic “I know what I don’t want” scenario. The great thing about the wax is that it can be scraped off – chalk it up to a problem solving direction.
I love manufacturing a visual language that communicates my secrets and IÂ LOVE having the only key. <3
I’m preparing for three art events. On Sunday, October 19th, 2025, I will participate in an artisan day at the Neat Whiskey Bar, 6706 E. Seneca Turnpike Building B, Jamesville, New York 13078. More details later but I believe it will be a noon – 6:00 PM thing.
Karen Tashkovski, ANGELIC, 2025, encaustic & collage, 4″ x 4″ painting mounted on 6″ x 6″ chalkboard (with stand)
I will bring my own table and set up smaller cash and carry items – I do take Paypal and Venmo. I have a few weeks to figure out the details and I will let you know as soon as I can. I might share my Christmasy stuff or I might just do all the small heart paintings.
I will be exhibiting one painting at Baltimore Woods Nature Center, 4007 Bishop Hill Road, Marcellus, New York 13108. They are having a member’s show November 1, 2025 – December 19, 2025 with a reception on Saturday, November 1, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM.
I will also be exhibiting one painting at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center (137 East Ave., Rochester, New York 14604). They are having a member’s show too. This will be December 5, 2025 – February 14, 2026 with a reception on Friday, December 5, 2025, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
Currently, I’m prepping a new series of thirty-six paintings. I placed three layers of wax on each hardboard (they are 8″ x 10″). Later today or tomorrow I will carve the designs and eventually begin the rest of the encaustic process. <3
