R&F Handmade Paints

The last of 2010’s Visiting Artist Workshops at R&F wrapped-up last week with Cari Hernandez, who came from Northern California to share some of her alternative methods of object making in a dynamic 3 day workshop.  Cari got her class all charged up!   If you missed out, or are not aware of Cari’s work take a look here.

The Visiting Artist Series is one of our favorite programs because it brings popular working artists to our studio facility to share exciting techniques with a small group of lucky students.  Be on the lookout in 2011 for another installment of this incredibly successful series.  Teaching artists on the roster include: Cat Crotchett, and Alexandre Masino, and Lorraine Glessner.

One of the great things about our visiting artist workshop program is the opportunity to acquaint other artists with unique approaches to encaustic painting.

Francisco Benitez, from Santa Fe, taught a class on encaustic portraiture June 2nd thru 4th here at R&F.  Switching from oils to encaustics a number of years ago prompted him to pursue his long time fascination with the encaustic Fayum funeral portraits of ancient Egypt and explore the techniques that produced them.

Using metal tools and heated tips that he had designed to duplicate the ancient bronze spatulas used by the Fayum painters, Francisco demonstrated how direct manipulation of the encaustic can create very controlled and at the same time rich impressionistic effects. This is largely due to the sensitive flexibility that give the tools the feel of being an extension of the fingers. These tools, by the way, are being manufactured for R&F by Sculpture House, and will be available in August.

Another feature of Francisco’s technique is the recreation of the four-color palette. Developed around the 5th century BC, the four color system, known as tetrachromy, utilizes black, white, red ochre, and yellow ochre (equivalent to mars red and yellow). When skillfully mixed, they can create a full color range that is both harmonious and elegant in its economy of color.  Following the Greek tradition of portraiture, the painting is begun on a dark ground and the layers of color progress from dark to light in a process that is like bringing the face from out of the shadows.

Compare Benitez’ method in one of his demonstration pieces below with a Fayum portrait from the 1st Century AD.

Portrait created during workshop by Francisco Benitez

Fayum Portrait, circa 100 AD

In conjunction with Francisco’s workshop he also has a solo exhibition at R&F entitled Ancient Voices through Modern Eyes: Encaustic Figurative Paintings by Francisco Benitez on view through July 24th, 2010.

Our 2010 Workshop Schedule is now available.  We are excited to add new workshop locations, including the new Encaustic Art Institute in New Mexico, Penninsula Art School in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, and Seattle.  Our Visting Artist Series was such a hit this past year that we had to do it again - it is so much fun to have these wonderful artists come and spend time with us. The workshops are custom designed by each visiting artist, according to their own unique talents. This years’ line-up of artists includes figure painting with Francisco Benitez, oil stick painting with Charles Forsberg, and encaustic exploration with Cari Hernandez.  We have also added new one-day intensives that will focus on specific techniques.
Click here to view the full schedule.

Give the gift of a fabulous encaustic workshop and save!  R&F is offering a special 10% tuition discount for early registrants. To take advantage of this offer, just give us a call at (845) 331-3112, and say “I want the Early Registration Discount”. Please note that this offer is only good for workshops administered by R&F.  We have extended this discount from now until January 8th, 2010, so you don’t have to worry about signing up before the holiday rush.

Following up on the excellent pictures of George Mason and his monotypes, we thought artists might like to see some additional options in the same process. All will be covered in an upcoming workshop taught by Paula Roland, Encaustic Monotype and Beyond, December 1-4, 2009 held at R&F in Kingston, NY as part of R&F’s Visiting Artist Series.

Paula Roland, Connecting Dots, each 40” x 26“ (with back lighting)

The contemporary nature of wax, combined with the spontaneity of the monotype, opens up endless possibilities for artists. This engaging process draws you in and gets you out of your conscious mind. Ideas come from the spirit of play. It’s been called “addictive” by more than one artist and a “meditation” by others. For Paula, “ …the encaustic monotype is a stepping off point and a way to extend the process to mixed media drawing, painting and even installation art”.

Roland will help artists develop works that match their vision by suggesting various strategies, techniques and learning experiences. Despite looking easy, it can be difficult to achieve your goals! Changes in approach, temperature, paper, and even pigment to wax ratio, all effect outcome and having an experienced guide is important.

Tracey Adams, Imago 4, 40” x 40”

One accomplished artist who has incorporated the encaustic monotype is Tracey Adams. Her wax prints, with elements of heated drawing, are often embedded in her paintings, as shown in Imago 4.

Kimberly Keller, Wax Collage/Print/Drawing

At one of Paula Roland’s recent workshops, Kim Keller created this drawing on the HotBox, the equipment used for the monotype (no press needed!). Kim combines wax printing, drawing, and collage with paper and string.

Catherine Keebler shows several calligraphic scrolls and scores of other prints created at Paula’s recent workshop.

The December workshop at R&F will coincide with a solo exhibition by Paula in R&F’s gallery. The framed and back-lit wax monotypes pictured above were shown at the 2009 Encaustic Painting Conference. For the R&F show, she will cut apart, layer, and reconfigure similar pieces into an installation. Paula will also exhibit new graphite painting/drawing on dipped paper. The opening is December 5—hope to see you there!

Summary:
Paula Roland’s Encaustic Monotype and Beyond Workshop / December 1-4, 2009 at R&F, Kingston, NY
Paula Roland Solo Exhibition at the Gallery at R&F / December 5, 2009, - January 23, 2010 / Reception December 5th, 5-7 PM with an informal artist’s talk at 5pm

Click here to register for Encaustic Monotype and Beyond Workshop with Visiting Artist Paula Roland:  December 1-4, 2009 at R&F, Kingston, NY.

Click here to view more of Paula’s work.

Jerry’s Artarama in Austin, TX will be hosting an encaustic demonstration at their 6010 Interstate Hwy 35 store.  The demonstration takes place from noon - 3pm.  R&F Instructor Gina Adams will be there to showcase this versatile medium and answer any questions you may have.  So stop by and dabble with the paint, find out the answer to that nagging technical question, or just say hello.

For more information contact Jerry’s at 512.420.9359.

Gina Adams work focuses primarily on her mixed heritage of Ojibwe Native American, Lithuanian, and Irish blood lines. Her work involves much research and travel, including language immersion at Turtle Mountain Reservation, and working with Maori of New Zealand and the Aborigines of Australia. She has exhibited across the country, and is represented by Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn, New York as well as Mary Harding at the George Marshall Gallery in York Harbor, Maine. She is on the Board of the Maine College of Art. To view additional work by Gina Adams, click here.

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George Mason is an artist from Nobleboro, ME with a long history of painting encaustic onto plaster. This month, he came down to Kingston for a week to experiment in our workshop with encaustic monotype.  Image 1

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George came here loaded with elaborate and delicate stencils that he had drawn freehand and cut out in his studio. The stencils were part of a repeating monotype process, creating an interplay between encaustic’s molten chaos, the stencils’ rigid patterns, the absorbency of the paper, and ghost images from previous pulls. Image 2

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His first step is to lay a color on the palette. Image 3

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The stencil is laid over that.  Image 4

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A sheet built up with the paint from unsuccessful pulls is reutilized by laying face-down over the stencil. Newsprint is laid over this and burnished with matboard shims and the blotter is pulled. Image 5

The palette now has the layer of white, the stencil, and the color from the blotter. A sheet of Arches Text is laid on the ghost. Image 7

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The paper absorbs the color.  Image 8

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The palette is wiped clean and Egyptian violet is applied. Image 9

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The previous print is laid face-up, allowing the violet underneath to soak up like a slowly developing photo negative. Image 10, 11 & 12

George plays with endless variations on this process. Different papers create different effects. He particularly likes the way the metallic colors work in the monotypes, partially separating out from the wax and bunching up in ways that look to him like ice floating on water.

Learn more about George’s work at: www.georgemasonart.com

Interested in learning about Monotypes, click here to find out about our Visting Artist Workshop with Monotype expert Paula Roland.

Artist Cat Crotchett recently spent two weeks in Indonesia teaching encaustic workshops.  R&F donated the paints used during the workshops.

Exterior View of the Workshop Space

Encaustic Palette and Torch

The first 3-day class held at Brahm Tirta Sari 2 in Yogyakarta, Java, explored batik art and how it can be combined with encaustic paint.  Cat was “amazed at how quickly both the batik artists and the painters adapted to encaustic painting (and fell in love with it).”  The batik artists incorporated canting tools, thin metal tools that are used to create fine lines and patterns.  The artists also experimented with batiking caps, or stamps to create texture and incised marks.

Batiking Caps in a Cap Pan

The second workshop held at Taman Budaya in Yogyakarta, Java, and sponsored by Antena Projects, was for practicing Indonesia painters.  Cat was amazed at how proficient and productive they were with the medium.  “Participants…focused on developing one or two complete finished works of art per day of each workshop. Each of these images was impressive in its conceptual thoughtfulness and formal unity – something quite unusual for a workshop format.”

Ali Incorporating the Canting Tool

An exhibition of Cat’s work at the Gallery at the Culture House Barbarab Segaragunung in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia took place in conjunction with the workshops.

Indonesia Painters Seated Around An Encaustic Palette

In the near future Cat plans to create “a body of work influenced by the experience of the cross-cultural workshops in Indonesia.”  In addition an article by Dr. Mary-Louise Totton on Cat’s work and the cross-cultural encaustic workshops will be in Visual Arts International Magazine, a prominent art magazine in Indonesia.

Last week the joint was jumpin’ as Russell Thurston came to town from Santa Fe to lead his advanced workshop, ‘Breaking the Rules’.  Russell shared a wealth of non-traditional techniques with participants from around the country, including working with dry pigments, painting on a variety of alternative surfaces, mixing media, and experimenting with different ways of heating the surface using irons and implements.

Russell’s solo show, Deus ex Machina, opened right on the heels of the workshop.  The show features an overview of recent works, some that are mandala-like patterns, others that have a more narrative thread.

Russell brought such excitement, generosity and good cheer to R&F - we miss him already!

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!