Encaustic Workshops at Swirl Fine Art
- This event starts
- Fri April 16th, 2010 @ 10:00 AM
This event ends- Sat June 12th, 2010 @ 4:00 PM
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Encaustic Workshops at Swirl Fine Art with Instructor Tracy Proctor
$165.00 for one day workshop including materials and lunch
Workshops run from 10:00am – 4:00pm
All materials and a hot lunch is included
A deposit of $75.00 is required to hold a spot
Location: Tracy’s Home Studio in Glenbrook
This intensive workshop is designed to cover the basic principles of encaustic techniques. Once an artist understands the fundamentals of heating and manipulating surfaces, there are limitless possibilities to the versatility of encaustic painting.
Topics Covered:
Studio Safety
Properties of pigments and wax mediums
Making your own clear medium
Colouring techniques
Basic requirements of supports
Texturing techniques including carving and collage
What is Encaustic Art?
The word encaustic comes from the Greek word, enkaustikos, meaning "to heat" or "to burn". Beeswax melted with resin and pigment forms the paint, and it is applied hot. Each layer of wax must be fused with heat to the layer beneath it. The method of painting with wax came from ancient Greece where shipbuilders painted the hulls of their ships to seal, protect and decorate the surfaces. This led artists to use encaustic for easel painting and decoration of clay and marble sculptures, and on to the ancient Fayum portraits of Egyptian mummy casings. The medium was lost in obscurity from the seventh century until the twentieth century where artists such as Diego Rivera, Arthur Dove, Karl Zerbe and finally Jasper Johns began to revive it. More and more contemporary painters and sculptors are experimenting with encaustic in a range of styles and techniques due to increasingly available resources and materials. The possibilities for luminous color, variety of texture, and depth are quite limitless.
Caring for an encaustic painting is simple. Like any fine art, encaustics should be kept out of direct sunlight. An encaustic painting will not melt until the temperature reaches 150 degrees, but they should not be left in a hot vehicle or hung above a wood burning fireplace. To clean the surface, dust gently with a soft cloth and handle with care. The unvarnished surface is very stable and will continue to cure and harden over time.
Contact
- 403.266.5337
