"Pond in the Round"

Image size 23.75 diameter

Encaustic

I painted this in March but have been really bad about posting paintings lately.  When I was planning this painting, I wanted to have it painted on a round piece of wood.  Since cradling a round piece of wood is not easy, I decided to get a 1/2" thick piece of plywood with a finished side of birch wood.  After I cut the shape, I added a 1.75" thick framework to the back so that this will hang that distance from the wall to add interest and dimension to the painting.  The framework is recessed to the point that the painting looks like it is floating.  I don't know how many layers are on this painting but I kept painting, thinking I was done, deciding that I wasn't, and adding more layers.  Finally, I declared it finished and am very happy with it.

 

Cascade

 

"Cascade"

Image size 48" x 12"

Encaustic

I'm really enjoying these long, skinny paintings in encaustic.  Don't we all have a wall that needs a painting with this shape?  This painting has encaustic, oil paints including some areas mixed with turpentine so that the paint will drip, and shellac burn.  Those additions create such great visual texture.

Turbulence

 

"Turbulence"

24" x 12"

Encaustic w/shellac burn

Here is another abstract using a lot of blues/browns.  I seem to be using those colors a lot lately.  They are such a soothing combination.  Well, actually this painting doesn't look so soothing, haha.  I decided to play around with some shellac burning on this one.  When seen in person, it is very dimensional with lots of colorful layers.

Effervescence

 

"Effervescence"

48" x 16"

Encaustic

I had fun with these free-form circles.  Before adding them I got the background built up with all of the layers that I wanted for depth.  Then it was time to play with the circles.

Our Ocean View

 

"Our Ocean View"

Image size 48" x 84"

Encaustic

This is the largest encaustic that I've painted so far.  I had so much fun working on it and am really happy with the result.  Below is a picture of it hanging in its new home.  

My clients and I discussed not only the size that the painting should be for the space but also how to break it up into a triptych.  We decided that a triptych with different size panels would be more interesting than one with identically sized panels.

Honestly, the reason for making this painting a triptych was so that it would fit into my car for delivery, but I think it is a much better painting because it is three panels.

Here are some close-ups so you can see some of the visual texture.

Cognition

 

"Cognition"

Image size 18" x 18"

Encaustic

I really fought with this painting.  My original concept was completely different and I wasn't happy with where it was going.  I added different colors thinking, "yeah, this will look really good", and being disappointed again...and again.  

The nice thing about encaustic is that I can continue to add wax and it just gets better and better.   For this painting, I used thin veils of color as I worked so the previous layers could be seen and added to the final result.  I am finally happy with it!

Lily Pad Pond

 

Lily Pad Pond

Image size 18" x 48"

Oil

Here's another skinny painting but this time it has a horizontal orientation.  This is a commission.  My clients liked a painting that I had painted that is similar to this but much smaller (10" x 14") and painted with watercolor.  They had a specific spot for this painting and a specific size and chose oil as the medium.  I love painting something that fits a special space in a client's home.

Drench

 

Drench

Image size 48" x 12"

Encaustic

I love a long, skinny format for paintings!  This has a lot of depth that isn't showing in the photo.  I painted this to enter into a juried show.  It was accepted into the show and sold soon after the show ended.

Flow

 

"Flow"

Image size 12" x 16"

Encaustic

Here is an encaustic that I painted a few months ago and am just getting around to posting it.  I've painted very little in the past year and am trying to paint regularly once again.

It felt really good to do an encaustic.  I've really missed working in that medium.  This painting has some areas of shellac burning and the white line was inscribed and filled with white encaustic.  I haven't done that before and really like the effect.

San Clemente House Portrait

 

"San Clemente House Portrait"

Image size 11.5" x 20"

Watercolor

I stopped doing the weekly paintings at the end of June.  I certainly didn't think that it would take two months before I posted another painting!  I guess I really needed a break.

This painting is a commission of a home in San Clemente.  I haven't painted a house portrait for about a year and a half.  I really enjoy painting them but had forgotten how stressful they can be to paint.  It's important for me to capture the look of the house, add artistic license, and have the clients be happy which causes me to overthink my decisions every step of the way.

This is a poured painting, which I think adds a lot of beauty.  The glow that is achieved by pouring thin veils of blue, yellow, and red in many layers gives a cohesive look to the painting.  I poured paints for about half of the painting and switched to direct painting.  This home is beautifully landscaped and having the plants as a focal point was important to the owners.  It would be hard to achieve the color and detail of the plants in a completely poured painting.