Encaustic Monotypes – works at the Bedford Gallery

Encaustic monotype is very much a process that suits me. For all three paintings the fluid quality of encaustic paint is very much at the heart of my inspiration. I liked the process of the paint moving about, dispersing onto and into the paper. I followed it. Where it spread and dispersed, I created expansive spaces, horizons, just like the landscapes that inspired me.

In the case of Morning sea ripple and Afternoon sea splash, the fluid quality of encaustic was very much the ideal material to embody and convey how the sea gently made its way towards the shore in the morning and bursted with energy as it crashed on the the beach in the afternoon. I also like the fact I can play a bit, explore and try color effects, textures and combine different approaches.

Encaustic paint lends itself well to blending colors like in Afternoon Sea splash. Colors were brushed on side by side and ran into each other once in contact with the paper. I take that ability to disperse further by reworking each monotype afterwards. I can rub part or all the of the medium, while still warm, into the paper, creating softness, lighter shades of color, for clouds and sky. I can add pencil marks while the paper is still on the hot plate to add definition, create contours, add details.
I very much appreciate and enjoy the fact I can work as heavy or light as I want with this technique. In the seascapes, I created additional layers and textured surfaces by reapplying the monotype to some of the encaustic medium left on the plate and thus getting splashes, ripples.

I can also work very minimally as in I am Enough, living the initial monotype where it landed on the paper, rubbing very lightly the encaustic paint and only adding a little sketch and a thin coat of cream paint at the bottom.