R&F Handmade Paints

Last weeks Encaustic for Sculptors workshop taught by R&F’s Kelly McGrath was a huge hit.   Students were  introduced to many innovative 3D techniques and they produced an impressive body of work in just three days.

We are looking forward to an exciting year of mixed media and collaborative workshops as well as our tried and true comprehensive courses in in both encaustic and Pigment Stick.   Also keep an eye out for more in our series of visiting artists.    This year we are thrilled to have Lisa Pressman, Lorraine Glessner, Cat Crotchett, and Alexandre Masino here at R&F!!

Look here for more information or feel free to contact us to reserve a space!

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.

The 1st of  a series of free encaustic demos for kids was a huge success at the Encaustic Art Institute in Cerillos, New Mexico!  EAI’s Educational Director, Carol Ware and Program Director, Russell Thurston gave a  hands-on demo at the opening of  the “Hot Wax” exhibition, where, as you can see, the parents seemed to enjoy trying encaustic painting as much as the kids.  Move over Hasbro - R&F is coming to town!

Check out these families working with our paints on the Paula Roland HotBox for encaustic  printmaking.

R&F Handmade Paints donated materials for this project, and we look forward to future collaborations with the Encaustic Art Institute.

R&F will be presenting another workshop at EAI this August.  Gina Adams will be the instructor, and it promises to be a wonderful workshop.  For more info, or to enroll, please visit; August 4-8 EAI Workshop

Self Portrait with Striped hat

We are very saddened to hear about the death of our good friend, Richard Merkin.  Richard was a revered teacher at Rhode Island School of Design and a long time illustrator for the New Yorker magazine. We knew Richard since the early 1990s. He was much more than a customer to us. He loved our Pigment Sticks, and we greatly loved the work he did with them. Those of you who like our Cerulean Blue Extra Pale can thank Richard for that. It was his urging that prompted us to make it.

Taxi Dancing

Richard’s solo show in the Gallery at R&F in 2002 filled the room with whimsy and romance. But our love of his work is as personal as it is professional. One of his paintings, which is in our permanent collection at R&F, is an uproariously comical portrait that he did of Jim and me many years ago. It is typical of the sharp observation and sly wit that characterized his work.

Richard and Jim

The same year that he had his show here, he came to teach a special Pigment Stick workshop.  His gregarious nature and delightful personality was infectious and the students had a fabulous, productive time.   He made a lasting impression not only on them but on the whole staff at R&F.

R&F has officially launched a new regional workshop site in far-off Newfoundland. Wayne Montecalvo & I traveled there to set it up and teach a collaborative Encaustic and Printmaking workshop. The first half of the workshop focused on printmaking, (trace monotypes and paper lithography), taught by Anita Singh at St. Michael’s Printshop. Then we moved north along the Avalon Penninsula to Torbay Bight Studio, perched right on the edge of the Atlantic, and hosted by Carol Bajen-Gahm.

We had a wonderful time, met some amazing artists, and had several surprise guests - some humpback whales who were feeding in the cove right outside the studio. The first spotting happened right in the middle of the first demonstration, and that whale stayed around for three days, and was joined by a few others, though they all maintained some distance from one another. Newfoundlanders may take the spectactular land and seascape that surrounds them for granted, but apparently they never tire of watching whales. By the last afternoon of our workshop, folks were gathered all around, sharing beer and wine, binoculars, telescopes and cameras, (also looking with interest at what has been made in the workshop). Amazing!

Be on the lookout for future workshops at Torbay Bight Studio - maybe you can have an amazing adventure too.