Sneak Peek

What do you get when you mix music and painting? Lots of beautiful live music for inspiration and maybe even collaboration. Stay tuned for more news about this new project. 

Artwalk 2013

Fellow artist, Demerise, and I had a wonderful time representing The Firefly Gallery yesterday for the Northport Artwalk. It was a great opportunity to meet the many art lovers not just in Northport but in the surrounding towns of Long Island and as well. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the local long island art scene!!

I'll Leave a Light on For You

"I'll Leave a Light on For You"

 

I've just added this print to my Etsy shop. It's now available as either a 7x7 print or an 8x10 print. 

Spreading My Wings

"Spreading My Wings" - 12x12 inch original encaustic painting on 1 and 3/4" cradled wood panel

Original is sold, but prints available here.

This is a new piece -- a commission - that I finished yesterday. This is one of my all-time favorite commissions because the woman I created it for had such a poetic and clear way of explaining the story behind the painting she wanted me to dream up. This piece is for her daughter (she actually has paintings of mine for several children), and it is meant to represent her transition from school to life ahead. So I imagined her as a bird leaving the safety of her little loving birdcage in the woods to fly to new heights in the big city. I added little touches like the ruler, pencil and half-filled out standardized scoring sheet to symbolize her school days .... though you can't see it too well here, the pencil is drawing out the word "dream." As a final touch, I added a 'diamond' (well a rhinestone!) in the sun in honor of the recipient's birthstone for April. :)

Autumn in New York

12x24 inch original encaustic painting: "Autumn in New York"

panoramic large prints available here

Okay, this one is my new favorite. It took me an entire afternoon just to cut the paper out for the trees, and let's not even mention the fact that I etched EVERY single window with my metal stylus so that the buildings would be 3D. Aside from this efforts, I am just really happy with this piece: the colors, the theme of Central Park, and the sky (modelled after the many beautiful sunrises and sunsets I have been watching lately from my bedroom window).

I haven't yet photographed the original on the wall, but when I do it will be for sale in my Etsy shop.

Till the Stars Fall Down

"Till the Stars Fall Down" - Encaustic and mixed media on 1 3/4 inch panel. Prints for sale here.

This is my brand new encaustic piece -- it features the Brooklyn Bridge with a view of Manhattan. It took me about a million years to paint the sky and stars just right with wax. Plus I dripped clear wax downward onto the painting for a 'falling star' feeling. I really love this one... not sure about my favorite part, but it may just be the groovy water that I added at the last minute.

i am the queen of my imagination (in full)

"i am the queen of my imagination" 7x7.5 inch print on 8.5x11 inch paper. For sale here.

Detail.

Side View.

I was able to take some pictures of my "queen" today, and here she is in totality. Though, I must say, it is very hard to photograph this painting. The wax is so 3-dimensional and shiny that the angle of light must be exactly right (it may call for a professional eventually). You can really see this when comparing the detailed image to the cast shadows included on the face in the full picture. I am feeling the wisdom of Beth's advice to stick to painting 8x8 or smaller. Yet I am feeling a desire to go larger!

I had such a great time creating this piece. I am thinking of yellow for my next work. Yellow and hopeful.

Waiting for My True Love

"Waiting for my True Love" 5x5.5 inch original encaustic painting on wood panel. Original is SOLD. Thank you, Carren.

Here it is. My first encaustic painting in a loooooooooong time. Actually, it's the second painting I did today. I melted the first one off the wood support with my heat gun like Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels in a fit of frustration. But the second one was better behaved. Gosh. Well, it was an exciting morning. I just adore the way wax looks in the light. It just captures a feeling of romance and mystery that I love. More will be coming soon. :)

Evolution

"The Artist's Assistant" 8x16 inch encaustic and gold leaf painting on wood panel. 2006. Original is sold. (I am searching for the digital scan for prints)

Ahhh.... let me just say right now that I am VERY EXCITED. About four years ago, I fell in love with encaustic painting. There is something about the process of melting wax and carving, inscribing and transforming it into visual stories that just makes my heart sing. It's almost like cooking or... alchemy. And once I got started with it, I never wanted to stop.

But then I had to stop when I was pregnant with Annabelle... then Nicolas. And even before Nicolas, it just didn't seem feasible to paint with hot wax in an unventilated apartment in NYC with a toddler sharing my studio. And, over time, I put encaustic painting out of my mind. My style, though -- even using gel medium & acrylics -- did retain some of this influence.

Now, though, something very wonderful has happened. I've realized that I finally have a space to create my encaustic work again, and -- as a belated birthday present- -my husband has kindly helped me to re-furbish the tools that I left in Venice & sold in Melissa Moss's going away garage sale. The equipment arrived today, and I am looking forward to this renewed adventure.