I just finished the second set of thirty-six (three dozen) robes! They are 12″ x 12″ hardboard mounted on cradled hardboard. I am so delighted with them. I feel like making more but I will, instead, clean up the art studio, put away all the unused ribbon and store the paintings in acetate sleeves until I find the perfect place to exhibit them all together.
I am so in love with the way my new exhibition (The Lotus Series) looks on the walls and tables in the Lawson Room at the Canastota Public Library. So grateful for having been welcomed back – and this time for two months (and one week!).
Thank you, Bill!
The library director purchased this amazing hardware that made my new installation at the Canastota Public Library so much better than my previous show.
Six dozen paintings (minus one that I left on a table easel in my living room) are now on display in the Lawson Room. These are encaustic, mixed media & collage paintings of flowers. They started off as lotus flowers but then I sort of branched out via the titles (Lily, Thistle, etc.). I created all the paintings this year. All are 8″ x 10″ on cradled hardboard and framed.
All paintings are available for sale. Contact information is listed in the literature.
The artwork will be featured at the library through October 2026. The Lawson Room is located in the basement of this Andrew Carnegie built library and can be accessed during library hours. There are many clubs and activities scheduled for this room in the coming months. They sound like a lot of fun – exercise classes, a writer’s group, bridge, a knitting and crochet club and lots more.
Monday: 9am – 8pm
Tuesday: 9am – 8pm
Wednesday: 9am – 8pm
Thursday: 9am – 8pm
Friday: 9am – 5pm
Saturday: 9am – 12pm
Sunday: Closed
Canastota Public Library
102 W. Center St.
Canastota, NY 13032
Phone: (315) 697-7030
Fax: (315) 697-8653
Email: canastota@midyork.org
Bill Loveland, Director
Still working on this second set of thirty-six 12″ x 12″ encaustic, mixed media & collage Robes. Getting closer to finishing – my goal is to have them done by the end of the month.
I also revised three paintings from the first series. Eventually, I will rephotograph them and upload these new versions here. I need to sit with them for a bit to make sure I am happy with them.
Meanwhile, I’m installing another Canastota Public Library show on Monday. And the group encaustic show at Rochester Contemporary Art Center begins on Friday. “Mustang Dance” is there.
Oh, and my exhibition at Hazard Branch Library continues through August 31st.
I just completed photographing the new collection of heart paintings. They are encaustic and collage, 5″ x 7″ on hardboard mounted on 9″ x 12″ chalkboard and framed.
Photographs do not do them justice. They are really vibrant in person and so full of texture.
This is the current state of affairs: my dining room table has been hijacked by the second wave of three dozen paintings in the lotus series, now called The Lotus Collection. I have added thistle and Japanese lillies to this group, although all flowers are abstracted.
In addition, I have incorporated my game devices, which I totally love. When I was on that Buffalo road trip with Penny, we chatted about verbalizing our visual language. I feel like that explanation should be the same spoken as it is written.
The thing with me though – I know what every brush stroke means. Every choice is deliberate, whether it is conscious or subconscious, and some of that is private, meant only for me. Jasper Johns never really shared his intentions and I love that bit of privacy.
However, this doesn’t sit well with the powers that be who offer art shows in their galleries. They want you to resonate with the masses and lately those masses are chronic malcontents. Complaining about everything in society. And misery loves company.
My paintings are flowers, but they are also autobiographical, and I’m a person who has climbed an emotional ladder. I finally found a belief system that sidesteps fears and all the shitty stuff. Seeing beauty in a colorful brush stroke or femininity in a ribbon, or familiarity in vintage game pieces – that is my art.
Meanwhile, just to be clear, these paintings are not finished. They are on the operating table, so to speak, waiting to be finessed. What I do at this stage is allow myself to walk away and then approach them with fresh eyes, discerning eyes, questioning whether the devices are enhancing the pieces or just covering painting mistakes. The artwork must work as a collective group but also stand alone.
I am also awaiting some supplies that I ordered: more ribbon, the apparatus to add wire to the frames. Can’t really move forward until I have all of the pieces to this puzzle.
It’s time to purchase more wax, damar resin and colors to continue on the path of the lotus. I have expanded to include thistles this time, as well as Japanese lilies.
I have a thing for Ancient Egypt. I also have a thing for Scotland. And everything Japanese. My paintings do tend to blend these cultures like a reincarnated melting pot of who I might be.
Sharing the current in progress situation. Paintings situated on my living room floor. It is good to take a breather from inhaling beeswax (which is completely intoxicating) and ponder my next decisions.
In a perfect universe, I could have all my pancake griddles going a once so that I can access every color in my repertoire, but I don’t have the room in my studio nor the electrical power to accomplish this – or do I? Maybe I just need more extension cords and another table and another griddle or two….
I will figure it out. Love that art can be both challenging and fun.
This is happening….
Thirty-six more paintings are currently in progress! I’ve created twelve more stencils, traced them onto the beeswax prepped hardboards and added the paper collage component to all of them. I introduced Monopoly money to this series. Using game pieces in my artwork is my favorite device.
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 I LOVE having the only key. <3
