Tangled Wax

Encaustic art intrigues me - the dreamy feel that comes from the wax layers lends another aspect.  So I was delighted to see Paper Artsy's latest challenge to use wax.  I've also been wanting to play around with two of the latest ideas from Wanderlust (which I encourage you to join - so many wonderful teachers available online this year!)   The first idea was to get some Zentangling going...and the second was to use Kasia's prompt to write, write, write fast, fast, fast on a page.  I've done that in my journal, which I will be posting next, and it was so fun I decided to try it on this piece.

I was not as brave as Astrid to try the wax bit on gessoed paper, lol!  Instead, I used an 8 inch by 8 inch board prepared for encaustic, which I had on hand as I just got a DVD by Michelle Bello on encaustic techniques.  I was also lucky to secure a Ranger Melting Pot, which although discontinued, are still possible to find here in the States, at least online.  But I could also have used a small  metal container heated low in a frying pan, or any number of other work-arounds that you can find on the internet.


I began by painting a wide stripe of black gesso, over which I would lay a piece of this beautiful textured paper I found at our wonderful local art store.








First, though, I used a regular Sharpie to cover the white space with writing and something like a tangle.  I don't know how Zen it is, but it does repeat the pattern, which seems to be the gist of this technique.  I have always been a doodler, though as I do most writing on my laptop these days, I rarely engage that part of my brain - this was a lot of fun!  I chose a curved feather pattern that is my very favorite to freehand machine quilt, because it is almost impossible to screw up.   I used a Sharpie for its permanence, and stuck to the regular size rather than fine point, because I didn't want to spend days creating a pattern on this largish piece, and I didn't think the fine point would show up anyway.

 Next, I applied the paper with some soft gel medium.

Apologies for the wonky placement.... Blogger rarely lets me put pictures where I want them!















A look that one finds frequently in encaustic pieces is embedded metal, particularly rusted metal.  I had nothing like that to hand, so I decided to use Quinacridone Gold acrylic, diluting it so that it would drip down my piece.  Then I added a bit of PaperArtsy rusting powder, which is the grey stuff you see.  Although I did spray with white vinegar, it didn't rust too well but I think that is because my substrate was not wet.  But no worries, because the grey fits right in!

 

Next, I dripped some diluted PaperArtsy Blueberry translucent acrylic ....

 And then I began to apply the melted beeswax.

 Then, although it is hard to see here, I scratched some loops into the dried wax...

 and rubbed on some Lumiere Metallic Copper and Metallic Rust paints with my fingers, and wiped off with a damp cloth before the paint was totally dry.

 I like how the paints work with the texture of the fibrous paper....

And how the scratched loops retain the color...

 And here is the finished piece....

 Thanks so much for stopping by, and if you've time, please leave a comment - I love hearing from you! xxx Lynn