R&F Handmade Paints

Here are some pictures from a special collaboration R&F did with artists Debbie LeBlanc and Roosevelt Madison, two friends who took one of our regional workshops at Majestic Ranch in Texas with Gina Adams.  Debbie lives in Texas, and Roosevelt lives in Los Angeles, so they used the workshop as a way to spend creative time together.

Debbie and Roosevelt wanted to come and work on some larger projects in our facility at R&F, but had such a great rapport with Gina Adams that they brought her along to help them with the technical aspects of their work.  They did enormous poured wax panels which were very exciting to see, and got a massive amount of work done!  It was such a great experience for all involved that they are now planning to make an annual pilgrimage to R&F.

R&F is gearing up for our second workshop at Wal-Art studios in Los Angeles, August 6-9, 2009. There is still room for more participants, but don’t delay in signing up because the last time we ran this class it filled up quickly at the last minute.

Daniella Woolf will once again be leading the LA workshop, and she will no doubt have some new tricks up her sleeve, having recently visited R&F to take part in our Photo & Encaustic workshop, which we run in collaboration with the Center for Photography at Woodstock. Daniella grew up in a movie biz family in Los Angeles, and holds an M.A. in Design (Textile Structures) from UCLA. She swung like Tarzan from ceramics to jewelry to fiber, textiles and collage until she found encaustic. It was the magic medium that brought everything into focus. She exhibits nationally and internationally, and explores issues of privacy, security and identity. She is a recipient of the Gail Rich Award for excellence in the Arts in Santa Cruz, and the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship. She toggles between studios in Santa Cruz and Whidbey Island, and is active in IEA and the Surface Design Association. She blogs at Encausticopolis and EncausticFiberopolis under the name Dotty Stripes. To view more of Daniella’s work, go to www.daniellawoolf.com.

Click here to learn more about the Los Angeles Encaustic Workshop and register online or give us a call to sign up!

R&F has long carried two varieties of filtered beeswax; white and yellow.  This granulated beeswax can be purchased in bulk, for artists who are interested in making their own encaustic medium, or who wish to use the beeswax alone.
Our white beeswax is a light creamy off-white.  Our yellow beeswax has always been a slightly deeper pale yellow.  While there is certainly some difference between the two colors, we have decided to change our choice of yellow beeswax to a bolder, less pale variety.  R&F’s new yellow beeswax is a bright, golden yellow, that stands with distinction next to our soft, luminous white beeswax.
In processing this variety of yellow beeswax, crude beeswaxes are chosen which are known to produce a deeper color wax after filtering.  These waxes are then filtered in a way which removes the brown coloring agents in the beeswax, while leaving a percentage of the red colorants behind.  This yellow beeswax is a popular choice in the candle making industry, due to its warm, natural appearance.
We feel that this wax will give our customers more options when it comes to the color of their beeswax, because while the yellow wax can be used by itself, it can also be mixed with our white beeswax to give you a range of color options.