Thursday, October 10, 2013

Sylvester the Cat, Boston Terriers, and Encaustic Painting




People often ask me how I came to do encaustic painting.  Its kind of an unusual story - it includes a dog, a doll and an architect.  A couple of years ago, my Mom and I went on an open studio tour on nearby Whidbey Island.  We took the ferry across to the island and spent the day driving around following signs to artist's open studios. 
We had stopped for a nice lunch and had left the restaurant and started wandering along the sidewalk window shopping. 
This dog caught my eye.  Mind you I am a huge dog lover and rarely do I miss a furry face as I pass by.  But this particular dog really caught my attention.  I think it was because of the Sylvester doll he carried.  Not only were they both black and white, but the fact the dog was carrying the cat doll was one of those "notice this" kind of moments I get sometimes.  Well, needless to say, I could not just walk by.  I had to stop, pet the dog and talk to the owner. 


When we were ready to part, the owner handed me a postcard.  It was an advertisement for an open studio that was very close by but off the track.  She directed us and said that her friend wasn't getting many to his studio because of its location and would we mind taking a look.  The painting on the front of the card was an acrylic figurative of some kind.  Mom and I being adventurers decided to go have a look.  We climbed up a long staircase to the office of a local architect.  He had all of his acrylic paintings on display.  There were several figurative paintings of jazz club and restaurant scenes with colorful figures enjoying their environments.  But, there was also a couple others that seemed very different and interesting in the way they reflected the light.   They were simple atmospheric paintings of vistas - a horizon line and that's about it.  They were magical.  The textures were awesome, layering, color - really beautiful.  They were so totally different than the acrylic works propped and hanging around the room.  I asked him about them.  He could tell that I was very intrigued by his wax beauties.  He invited us to follow him into another part of his office where he had a studio.  There he had an encaustic palette set up and he was demoing - I fell in love - immediately - no questions asked... I just knew I had to try it and so I did.  That's the story of how I found encaustics and the rest has just fallen into place since that day. 

Peeps II
encaustic 6 x 12
Happy Friday!

18 comments:

  1. Oh my what a story and your birds are beautiful. But I still have no idea how you do it, so I will google later on to find more about i. I think your art is awesome!!
    xx Marianne

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  2. Great story and love the birds - sometimes such coincidences help us on our way! Valerie

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  3. Great story and loving your wonderful birds. Happy PPF, Annette x
    http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

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  4. Wonderful post Marji and I am loving those birds. Happy PPF, Robin Panzer Art http://artstudio33.blogspot.com

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  5. serendipity indeed! Great story. LOVE your Peeps!!

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  6. that dog was adorable and I think you were meant to find that studio and find encaustics... they work so perfectly with your style... and seeing one of your works on my wall makes me smile every day...xx

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  7. The spirit of that dog led you to your true path...Thanks for sharing this amazing story!! Love the peeps too!! You are so prolific in all you do!

    Hugs Giggles

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  8. I love the was you have portrayed these birds in encaustics! Beautifully done!

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  9. It was truly meant to be. Your encaustic work is magical!

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  10. Beautiful story and art Marji, thank you for sharing!

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  11. Lovely story, so great you found encaustic! Beautiful piece! <3

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  12. Wow, a very cool story and i always love your encaustics! I have never tried them myself, i just admire from a distance!

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  13. what a great story and how marvellous that a dog was involved (all the best stories have animals I believe!!) Your three little birds are gorgeous!

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  14. ahhhh, i have often wondered myself! I still would love to see you work your magic in person... it really does look like magic to me- this one being no exception.

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  15. That dog with his cat made me laugh! What a great story - it does seem that it was meant to be. I love your encaustic work and it does seem perfect for you. That was a happy day!

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