Encaustic

In January, I took an encaustic painting class at the Torpedo Factory with Bev Ryan. The color doesn't really come out of the brushes, so Bev keeps a rainbow of them. The waxy buildup and embedded pigment turn the brushes into sculptural forms themselves, surely the inspiration for Jasper John's wonderful painted bronze Savarin.

Two stand-out pieces. Above (top) was created by the woman in the white shirt, below. (I didn't get her name.) Directly above is by my friend Nancy Hacskaylo. In both pieces, I love the striking color palettes, the simple composition and the rich texture. This looks easy, right? It isn't.

Bev gives a demonstration of different techniques. Thanks for a great class, Bev!

Provincetown on Cape Cod has long been a travel goal. I grew up in Massachusetts and spent many summers on "The Cape", but never made it to the tip of the tail. And so it was a no brainer to attend the 5th Annual International Encaustic Conference in early june. Friday evening was a buzz with several gallery openings, including the cross-pollinated Beeline exhibit at the Kobalt gallery. Marybeth Rothman's Nefertiti inspired portrait (above) was a standout, and juror's selection. My encaustic pal and Takoma Park neighbor, Kathy Anderson (below) showed a new piece.

The opening was swarming with great encaustic art, good food and the encaustic doyenne and conference organizer herself, Joanne Mattera (2nd from left, below). 

The conference included the de riguer line up of a keynote speaker, vendor area, panel discussions, and break out sessions. Torch demonstration on handmade paper by Michelle Belto was definitely NOT run of the mill conference fare. 

The magic for me was being surrounded by so many artists. On Sunday morning, all attendees were invited to show their work—either in the main conference hall or in their own rooms at the Inn. David Clark (above left) transformed his space (below) into installation with his arrow series paper "tee shirts" which popped against the all white interior. He even flipped his bedspread inside out to keep the white theme.

I fell in love with Linda Cordner's work (below). Her simple "Scapes" perfectly capture the translucency of encaustic. And finally, Sunday was capped off with an art trade. Admission was one of our own encaustics, wrapped in plain brown paper, for which you received a raffle ticket. Imagine my surprise when I was selected to pick first and somehow I managed to make a beeline directly to the grand prize amongst the piles of wrapped art: Joanne Mattera's piece, ALL MINE!!!!