Gallery Invitational:  An Exhibit at the Rogers Free Library

The Bristol Art Museum is pleased to sponsor the Gallery Invitational Exhibit in the lower level of the Rogers Free Library. January 15th through March 31st, 2009

Each quarter a new group of artists is invited to exhibit thereby having an ever-changing assortment of styles, techniques and subject matter exhibited throughout the year.

Just finished up a few more encaustic and mixed-media paintings, in this photo you can see pieces of paper, that’s my signature being transfered onto the waxy surface.

Lots of people have been asking me how to transfer photos to encaustic paintings?

This is what I do to transfer toner prints onto my paintings. This also works with acrylic medium, but the process is a bit different.

1. Use bees wax encaustic, heat with an iron, to make a flat surface on your painting. you can mix with oil paint (around 30% paint to wax)
2. take a photo you want to transfer, (I usually use my own photos) reverse and edit in photoshop, convert to greyscale and adjust contrasts.
3. print with a toner style printer, (some inkjets and color printers work too) I have a basic Brother.
4. take the print, put face down on top of flat waxy surface.
5. Rub with hard smooth object, for few minutes until entire area is totally covered, then leave it for ten minutes.
6. poor water on paper, put wet towel or face cloth on it to help soak into paper , leave for 10 min.
7. remove towel, take your finger and rub surface of paper until you dissolve the paper away, keep doing it gently if you need to get rid of more paper.
8. let dry, rub rest on paper residue away.
9. should leave just the toner image on wax surface.
10. If you choose, layer over with more wax

Thank you everyone that bought my paintings in 2008, more on the way!

I’ve been making my own frames using “reclaimed wood” mostly extra scrap I find around the shop and mill building. Amaizing what you can do with a little Gorilla Grip, and a miter saw.

Rhode Island during large winter swell, I’ve used photos from this series for reference in many of my recent paintings.

Some images of setting up gallery for our opening on Dec. 19th

Lots of layers, this painting has changed about 50 times, why I like working with encaustic. Photo transfer references a digital photo I casually shot this August at South Shore in Little Compton. The transparency of the medium sometimes doesn’t always translate on an lcd screen, some of the layers are opaque.