I've been living with a dual creative personality for a long time now.
What, you might ask, is that? (Welll of course I made it up!)
Basically, it's when you love the heck out of multiple mediums, and are trying to figure out how to creatively exist while being "torn between two lovers" so to speak. (Oh the angst!)
I even have 2 studios in my home ... one for painting & one for encaustic. So you can imagine how stressful it can be deciding where to show up each day with my coffee ;-)
But recently, I got really brave.
I went back to a few of my original paintings, and dared to apply the encaustic wax medium right overtop of them!
I know ... crazy, right?!!!
Here's the first one I went all encaustic nuts over....
Our Pass
encaustic / mixed media
12" x 16" x 1.5"
mounted on cradled birch panel
You can see in the close ups below, that I was able to show more movement by having the encaustic wax ripple like water across the surface.
I also added some sand from the ocean to some of the wax, which can be felt when running your hand across it, and did some carving around the 2 starfish so they would jump out a little more from the rest of the painting.
This next one I'll be sharing with you is all about the water.
I was inspired by Andy Warhol's Flower series when I painted it - although, unlike the Warhol series, I chose to give it a more watery look.
The encaustic wax added that much more fluidity to the painting.
When I began applying it, I kept picturing the flowers behind a window pane in the pouring down rain - so that's the look & feel that I decided to give it.
You can see the horizontal ripples of wax running down the painting's surface.
Flower Power: Ode to Warhol
encaustic / mixed media
12" x 16" x 1.5"
mounted on cradled birch panel
Here's some close ups:
And the final one I added the encaustic wax to is shown below, A Rose is a Rose".
This painting has always felt joyful & exuberant to me!
So in addition to adding texture here & there, as well as carving along the edge of the rose's petals - I also happily splattered colored wax speckles across the entire surface.
This added such a sense of joie de vivre!!!
A Rose is a Rose
encaustic / mixed media
12" x 16" x 1.5"
mounted on cradled birch panel
Here's some close ups:
No longer feeling like I'm "torn between two lovers" - all that I've been struggling with in terms of my "split creative personality", and which medium to use where, has finally resolved itself ... Painting studio first, then off to the encaustic studio with another cup of coffee, for further contemplation & interpretation.
Between my discovery of a new painting surface last week, and now this - I have a feeling my art will never be the same!!!!
All three of these pieces are for sale in my encaustic gallery.
These re-imagined paintings, with their encaustic wax surfaces, will also be hung at The Art Cellar in downtown Greenville, SC in time for the upcoming First Friday Art Crawl on Friday, May 3rd from 6 - 9 pm if you'd like to see them in person.
Now it's your turn. What do you think about me merging these mediums? Do you like it, hate it, or just totally indifferent lol?
If you're a collector, do you find yourself torn between different mediums while browsing thru galleries, never knowing which one you like best? Ever think about mixing them up on your wall?
And if you're a creative, do you also enjoy working with many different mediums? Does this cause you tension, or do you just pick & choose as you go along? OR have you also gotten brave & adventurous, and decided to mix them up?
Comment below ... I would love to chat creativity with you!