Encaustics

I have been painting with my encaustics this week and loving it!  I have to set everything up in the hallway by the back door because I need good ventilation and I have none in my studio.  This particular painting is of a sunset from Washington state.  The colors are so vibrant.  I painted the encaustic on the clayboard and then heated it up.  I work the melted wax around until I get sworls  of color  like you would see in the sky. You can't get an exact replica like you could with oil paint  but I think it makes an interesting painting. 

Art Prize

I made it Art Prize this year!  It is a city wide art competition in Grand Rapids that runs for 3 weeks. So far the winners have been realistic pieces and I am curious to see what type of art wins this year.    I can't say I saw any paintings that really blew me away but then again I didn't get to all of the venues. You can download the Art Prize ap and you can see all of the art.  I did see some outdoor sculptures that I thought were great.  I also saw a 4 panel quilted fabric piece that was amazing.   I am considering entering next year.  It would be terrific to put on my resume.