Barbara Pagani's Tresor Cache 101

ENCAUSTIC PAINTINGS, WAX WORK- Source  http://www.francescaazzara.com/links.php?16073#.T-Sf2xf2YsI        A medium that pre dates oil painting.  Encaustic paint is a mixture of beeswax and pigment.  This challenging yet forgiving medium allows the artist to layer, collage, scrape away and etch into the surface.  The rich textures and depth of imagery cannot be duplicated with any other medium.     Encaustic painting is done with pigmented beeswax tempered with damar resin (hardened tree sap) that is kept molten while painting.  The paint is usually applied on to a ridgid, absorbant surface such as plywood or untempered masonite. Each layer of wax must be fused with a heat gun.  The difficulty and beauty of this medium comes from its instantaneous drying time.    The encaustic surface is characterized by luminous color, lush surfaces and translucent layers of color.  Highly durable and impervious to moisture it will not deteriorate, yellow, crack or darken with age.  The painting

Egg tempera is a medieval painting method that requires the addition of egg yolk to pigment in a water dispersion.  This ‘tempering’ acts as a binder for the adhering of color to the panel. A wood panel sized, or sealed, with rabbit skin glue and layered with multi-coats of a powdered gesso ground, and sanded between and after coats, is the traditional archival substrate for this technique.  The panel preparation is a tedious task and can take a longer amount of time that the actual painting itself, which is why egg tempera is not as popular as other painting media. Cennino Cennini first recorded his methods, recipes, and techniques for egg tempera painting in 1437 and his ‘bible’ is still used today in an English translation by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr. Egg tempera used to be called  la pittura al putrido meaning ‘the putrid paint’ due to the unpleasant odors in the medieval art studios which lacked refrigeration. Traditionally this medium requires small brushstrokes and is akin

Encaustic Care Tips by Kathleen Waterloo 1.  Buff with soft cotton cloth  gently  to clean, remove grime or fingerprints, or to return to gloss finish. Ideal cloths are soft t-shirts or silky pantyhose. Avoid flannel, rough cloths or ones with many loose fibers. They will scratch or leave tiny fibers imbedded in the survace. 2.  Keep out of direct sun  or heat source. Heat may make the surface feel 'tacky' but will not alter appearance. Remove from source of heat and surface will cool back to normal. Encaustic will melt at 162 degrees F. 3  Do not use cleaning solvents  or water to clean the surface. 4.  Was is a natural material  and efflorescence does occur as the result of water oxidation. (This also occurs in brick and in egg tempera paintings.) Over time - possibly as soon as a month - a matte finish will appear on the painting surface. Both gloss and matte finishes are acceptable and each have different appearances. To return to a gloss finish, see note 2. The older

Here is a link with a great article on acrylic texture mediums http://www.art-is-fun.com/acrylic-texture-mediums.html

Here are some of the shots taken over the weekend at our cottage of the flowers planted last year which I started from seed. It is really tough to know if they will survive with the possibility of not having rain when we are not there. These were Iris's that never bloomed in town and are just a bunch of show offs at the cottage getting the deck ready for summer visitors  Here are some of the new annuals that I planted and just in case it doesn't rain I used crystal that expand and release water to the plants while I am not there.  My peonies being opened by the ants which I might miss if I am not there this coming weekend my chives amongst the bleeding hearts                                            Good old reliable bleeding hearts.                                       Hosta's and chives which have been there now for several years one of my poppies which I started from seed last year getting ready to open on Saturda

Marvelville Schoolhouse Concert with Leeroy Stagger and Dennis Ellsworth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZChUNPGlos&feature=share

I got Flora's book from Amazon which I pre ordered early this year. It is one of my favourite books to date. The colours in her paintings are very vivid. She explains her process and how to let go and allow the process of painting intuitively to flow through. Here are 2 of my paintings based on her process: Here are some of the examples of some of her students works:

Chuck and I went up to Lake Purdy Ontario to visit with Dwight & Leslie a couple of months ago and I just came across the photos. There was still ice on the lake but during the weekend we stayed there, half of it had melted. Anyhow it is such a cute little place, even if it's in the middle of nowhere.