Three purchased from Discarded series

Galleria refreshed

I have been renting a booth space at the Andersonville Galleria for a couple years now - it is a happy space for me. It was the first place I started showing my work, and not only have I made many sales, but I have also met some great people and been "found" by some people who have helped my career as a Chicago painter along on it's merry way.

A couple weeks ago I revamped my booth. I put up a fresh coat of paint, and put up all new art (save my portrait samples). I took down florals and put up abstracts. I took down my old landscapes and put up my Absurdity Birdity and Snow Day series. Now in addition to watercolors you'll also find encaustic paintings and oil/cold wax paintings. All new matted prints are available too.

It's a whole new booth. If you haven't visited recently I invite you to come take a new look. It's the Rochelle Weiner Fine Art booth, on the first floor, in the back.

TIP: If you let me know you're planning a visit, I can meet you there. And if you buy an original while I am there, I may extend you a courtesy discount!

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Encaustics and the discarded series

"Sordid" - encaustic on 10" x 10" cradled board, $250.00

As another branch of my "Discarded" series, I have been incorporating antique photography into encaustic works.

I have a fascination with antique photography. It's sad and intriguing to find old family snaps and formal shots for sale at junk shops and antique stores. I can spend ages sifting through these crumbling old pages from someone else's life. I like the idea of giving them a new life by putting them into art pieces. I find these images so inspiring - precisely because I don't actually know the people in them. It affords each image the potential of infinite stories.

My newest iteration of this series is incorporating these images into encaustic works. Encaustic is painting with melted wax, and you can do image transfers, collage and carving into the wax to build your image. I used the image transfer method to create this series.

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By Rochelle / Collage paper / Discarded series / Encaustic paintings / Encaustic paints / encaustic wax / Inspiration / Materials / photography - 05/28/2013

Opening on Friday May 10

I am one of 10 featured artists at the Deer Path Art League's show "Art is for the Birds" opening Friday May 10 in Lake Forest, IL.

Art is for the birds

May 10-June 14

Deer Path Art League & Gallery
400 E. Illinois Rd, (2nd Floor)
Lake Forest, IL 60045

Open Monday through Friday
10:00 am- 4:00 pm
Saturdays by appointment only

The elegant gallery space is in a beautiful spot on the edge of downtown Lake Forest, looking out over the treetops. Eighteen of my paintings are on display, encaustic works and monoprints, all featuring our feathered friends. The other artists will be displaying oils, hand made bird cages, mixed media works, jewelry, sculpture, acrylics, and etchings. I got a glimpse yesterday and it promises to be an amazing show!

I'm entirely disappointed I will not be able to attend opening night. However, if anyone else is interested in going that night, it promises to be a fun event. If anyone is interested in going any other time during the run of the show let me know and I'll do my best to meet you up there!

Following are my paintings that will be in the show:

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Art show / By Rochelle / Encaustic paintings / Encaustic paints / encaustic wax / Masa paper / Materials / Monoprints / Paintings / Watercolor / Watercolors - 05/07/2013

Art is for the Birds

I have been asked to show 12 works featuring birds in the "Art is for the Birds" group show at the Deer Path Art League and Gallery - yay!

I've focused on birds in many of my paintings and I will be showing a series of monoprints and encaustic works at this show. Very excited to be included! Thank you Deer Path Art League! 🙂

Details:

May 10 - June 14, 2013

Deer Path Art League and Gallery
2nd Floor, Gorton Community Center
400 East Illinois Road
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045

Art show / By Rochelle / Collage paper / Encaustic paintings / Encaustic paints / encaustic wax / Masa paper / Materials / Monoprints / Paintings / R&F Pigment Sticks / Watercolor / wood board - 04/04/2013

Developments in wax

(Pictured above, Tippi's Daydream, encaustic)

About a month ago I took a class at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The instructor's name was Jeffrey Hirst, he was teaching encaustic painting, what a revelation!

Encaustic painting is a method of painting with liquid wax mixed with color, with roots going as bar back as Ancient Greece. I'd been aware of encaustic painting for many years but had never had the chance to try it before - and I think I may be hooked. Over the course of that 3 day class I completed 10 paintings - holy moly! I made it my first order of business on returning to stock up on the equipment and materials and give it a try at home.

This weekend was my first chance to sit down and do some work. Jeff taught us many techniques - painting with wax, fusing methods, image transfers, collage, stencils, etching, carving, etc. It really got my mind going - how can I combine this new medium with what I've been working on already? Following are a series of encaustic paintings finished this weekend which display my first try.

Above, "Tippi's daydream" is a small work on a cradled board. It measures 6.5" x 7.5" and 1" deep, and it is mixing the encaustic style with my "Discarded Memories" series I've been working on. I started by layering colored wax on the board, and then transferred a charcoal sketch inspired by a vintage photo portrait I'd purchased an antique shop. I then started working into the sketch with wax, laying over blocks of color and then transferring the charcoal drawings of the birds. Once that cooled I worked back in again with more layers of painted wax, and then etched in the lines finishing by rubbing oil paint into the etched lines.

I've also been working on a series of nudes - attending a weekly painting from life session with a few fellow artists. Below, "Moment" combines the nudes with encaustics. This was a simpler process than the above. I started with a 12" x 12" board and started layering wax - warm tones mostly, and letting it be a little pockmarked and messy. I then did a charcoal drawing based on a painting I'd finished this weekend and transferred it to the wax painting. I finished by rubbing oil paint across the entire surface to enhance the pockmarks and irregularities in the surface.

"Moment", encaustic painting by Rochelle Weiner

Below, "Still Wind" was a very similar process to the above "Moment" - layers of wax, charcoal drawing transfer, oil paint rub. The only difference is that before the oil paint I etched in the wavy curly lines to suggest wind and movement to juxtapose the stillness of the seated model.