Encaustic 3

It doesn't always work out quite how you expect.
We decided that this looks like a scene from the walking dead. Still, at least that means that Archie is keen to have it on his wall.

Encaustic 2

This is day 2 of my experimenting with encaustic, working on a small piece of plywood. I have been trying different using materials with the wax, in this case oil paint and then attaching a photograph. It started off as a very painterly landscape, and developed into an abstract piece. Oil paint reacts quite interestingly with the wax, with a lot less control than I'm used to, especially when I fuse it with the heat gun. 

Looking at it now I probably should have stopped with the first image, although I quite like the abstract, but the real purpose here is to build up my experience with it and see what it will do.

Part of me wonders if I should have stopped here, but this is about me learning, not producing.

Jeez, I'm coming over all growth mindset!

The end result.

First Encounter With Encaustic

Hot Wax.
I've been interested in this technique for some time. I'd see paintings on the web with the most beautiful luminosity and transparency, and wondered how they were done, so I did a bit of research into encaustic, and got some equipment for my birthday.
From the name I thought the technique would involve some unpleasant chemicals, but far from it. The name comes from the Greek, meaning To burn in, and the only chemical involved is actually beeswax. It needs different kit to my oil painting; hotplates and heat guns, and is is completely different to use. I'm learning it from scratch, which is quite exciting.
This is my first attempt at encaustic. It is a rook drawn in biro, mounted on board, and them worked into with the hot wax. Fun to do, but not even scratching the surface of what I think the encaustic can do..

Rook.
Encaustic.

Old Work, New Space

Well, after the move we are finally out of boxes ...mostly, but we still have to get rid of a load of stuff. I suppose that's the next job before we try to get the planners on board and start knocking the house about. One of the jobs that will need to be done is to bring the studio up to a living standard. Until that happens I have cleared a bit of space in it and have managed to do some work this weekend (to be posted later). This is how the studio currently looks;

Whilst unpacking my painting stuff I took a few photos of old paintings that I have never posted, and hadn't seen for years. Whilst packing, moving and unpacking might be a pain in the rear, I do like pottering in my studio. These are 15+ years old. I think  they were painted after Seth was born, but I could be wrong.

 Sara's Granny

 Abstract Landscape

 Abstract

 View From Crayke

 Abstract

 The Field

 Tholthorpe Tracks

 Sandy Lane

 Abstract

Sunflower

The Old Rocking Horse

A painting from the old old house.

This rocking horse has been in my family for generations and is in a beautifully distressed state. It really ought to be restored, but I like the peeling paint and gesso. It's probably about a 100 years old, give or take, although if you believe what the family says, it is old enough to have been made from fragments of the true cross.
I painted it about 17 years ago, when we lived in York. Seth was a baby, and we had finished renovating the house we were in. It took us months to finish it, coming home from work stripping walls and wood. It was hard work but was worth it; the house looked great. As it turned out, we weren't to stay there for long. As Seth learned to walk, and kept falling over in the back yard, we decided that we needed a garden. We wanted another older house, which more or less took York out of our budget. There was also the issue of schools. We eventually found a house in a village that we had never heard of, in the catchment for a soon to be 'outstanding' primary school, and a decent secondary school. When we went along to have a look, which we nearly didn't do, we were sold, and bought Grenouille (the previous lady of the house liked frogs). We quickly  renamed it Hector's House.
15 years (and Archie) later we have moved again, this time into Burnside, Easingwold, with less garden,  a smaller house that again needs work...but with a potentially great studio. The rocking horse is the with us, the painting of it is still with us and, hopefully, we will be saying in this one.
We are also sticking with the name.

The Old Rocking Horse.

Room With A View

From the old house.

This was painted back in May, whilst the GCSEs were on. 

The back of the old house looks out over a few roof lines with lots of trees; the front onto open fields, with the Pennines in the far distance. Our new house is in the centre of Easingwold so the views are very different. We got lots of wildlife visiting the garden in the last place, particularly birds, with regular woodpeckers, bullfinches,sparrowhawks and different owls. Here not so much. Paradoxically, here we have more walks for the dog, with more, and easier access to open countryside. Thomas the Bakers is seconds away (pies!), there are several pubs just 100 metres away and  plenty of restaurants and shops, ranging from co-ops to more gentrified deli's....and then there's the studio. It might be stuffed to the gills at the moment with bikes, boxes and furniture, but it will be a great space when we get it sorted.

Just don't hold your breath.

View From The Old House.

Last Of The Summer Paintings.

This is a view of the river Nidd at Nidd Gorge in Knaresborough. It's on a fairly small canvas and was painted during the summer, after we had been for a walk in the gorge. Beautiful place.

Nidd Gorge