Meet Lyn Belisle. When I first saw Clare’s work online, I had one of those “aha” moments of resonance and recognition that gives an artist goosebumps. I was very new to encaustics, and I certainly wasn’t a professional photographer, but I *had* to learn how she did what she did with wax and images. Unfortunately,… Read More »Student Highlight: Lyn Belisle
Take a break from it all….at least every once in awhile. Sometimes it’s in the form of an organized workshop or retreat, sometimes it’s like-minded friends getting together for a few days, and sometimes it’s an afternoon by yourself in the woods. It really doesn’t matter, what’s important is finding a space to get clarity… Read More »Every Artist Should Retreat
Don’t Believe Everything You Think. My money is on the fact that most of us have an inner critic….one that can get really loud and obnoxious at times. One that gets in the way of our creative process. I can see you all shaking your heads in agreement. But why does the inner critic have… Read More »Your Inner Critic
The substrate debate. The topic of substrates and how to prepare them often is confusing for beginners. When choosing a substrate make sure it is of a porous material—usually a wood panel. Most beginning photo encaustic artists choose any number of manufactured boards, either flat or cradled—it does not matter. Keep in mind that any… Read More »Preparing Substrates
Permission to go Rogue. Oh the tools…..it’s a toss up between the kitchen store or the hardware store. They are equally wonderful when thinking about mark making. There are no rules here. So if you are waiting, this is your permission to go rogue. Whatever you can find or think of to make a mark… Read More »Photo Encaustic Mark Making Tools
Work with images you DON’T love. Sounds a little crazy. I know. As I’ve said before, working with encaustic can be frustrating and messy, requiring us to struggle with molten beeswax, potentially harmful fumes and sometimes cumbersome and frightening equipment. So why do it? Simply….it’s intoxicating. Otherwise why go to all the trouble to manipulate… Read More »Push yourself out of your comfort zone
I hear it all the time, “but I don’t have access to a studio.” And you might indeed need a studio if you’re planning on creating 36 x 36 photo encaustic with loads of texture. But we all start much smaller. And you don’t need a studio. You can learn basic photo encaustic skills with… Read More »Busting the Myth: You don’t need a big studio
How do you print on tissue paper? Inevitably when I start talking about my process and get to this point where I mention that I print my images on tissue paper, I can see that I’ve completely baffled my listener. It’s like they get stuck in time and get this off look on their face.… Read More »The Question I Get Asked Most Often
Recently I was re-reading the introduction that I wrote for Open to Interpretation: Water’s Edge and was struck by this paragraph. As artists we have a human impulse to create art, as well as the human need to define or make sense of the work created. Artistic expression has long been a tool through which… Read More »Taking Some of My Own Advice
You are going to be challenged. There you go. It’s that simple. As artists we are drawn to the undeniable allure of the beeswax and can’t wait to get our hands on it to see how it transforms our images. But I can guarantee you that you will be challenged. But man oh man, once… Read More »What Every Beginner Should Know About Photo Encaustic