encaustic painting class

I first came across the concept of encaustic painting through my friend, Amanda. We struck up a friendship about five years ago as homeschool mothers. Honestly? She was quite a breathe of fresh air when I was first beginning my homeschool journey. It was something of a double win to discover that she was also an artist. My daughter has been inclined to express herself creatively through drawing and painting from an early age, and it's been a joy to also find inspiration through Amanda's art.

Amanda's love is encaustic painting. To understand encaustic in it's simplest form would be to say, painting with wax. However, that doesn't do it justice, because the process is specific. It's something of a natural process as all the ingredients used have to be natural or the painting won't last.

My natural abilities aren't in the art field. I never once took an art class in high school or college. Art intimidates me. However, encaustic painting has intrigued me and I came up with an idea to combine gardening with it. Amanda offered an Encaustic Imagery class last month. So, I printed pictures from the garden on 100% cotton paper (all natural, remember?), and used them as a springboard from which to paint.

Encaustic-Carrots
original picture

encaustic painting

I adore this carrot picture. These are cute little Parisienne carrots we first grew this year, and I am holding them in the picture. The picture was glued to a 8x10 birch panel, and then painted with different layers of encaustic medium. I love the final result, and it is hanging in my kitchen where I view it often throughout the day.

Encaustic-Woods
original photo

encaustic painting

This picture was taken by my daughter on a hike at our local nature center. I just love the angle, perspective, sunlight and colors she captured. This 5x7 photo was also glued to an 8x10 birch painted and then painted with encaustic medium.

For both pieces I used muted, earthy colors, which is very me, and appropriate for the subject matter! I'm very pleased with the experience of the class and learning this technique. Amanda is a gifted teacher, thorough but gives space to the participants to experience the process. She has an amazing, spacious studio called Studio Joy! and I highly recommend her as an instructor.


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