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.
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.
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.
