Carol Mell: Encaustic Painting Workshop
The process of painting with melted beeswax and resin can produce a rich alchemy of color and texture to create something new and often unexpected. Whether you paint landscapes, figures or abstracts, in this three-day workshop we will learn the basic application and fusing techniques with molten encaustic medium, as well as additional ways to apply texture, color, marks and ephemera for a rich and layered painting.
Each student will be provided with small painting panels for practice and one larger panel for a finished work. We will focus on how to use encaustic and other companionable pigments and supplies to suit your painting interests. This workshop is designed for painters of all levels and all materials will be provided. Proper tools, studio methods and safety procedures will be discussed. All levels welcome.
What to Bring
- Wear comfortable, closed shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. We don’t want any burned toes.
- Bring a work apron or old clothes. Wax does not come out in the wash.
- Bring a notebook for all the information I’ll be sharing.
- Bring laser or toner images on plain paper that you might want to transfer. Sketches and high-contrast images work well for this. Don’t forget that the image will be reversed when you transfer.
- Bring interesting papers, leaves, flowers, stencils, metal bits, discarded kitchen utensils or other items you might want to embed or use as a pattern in wax. They must be completely dry and not melt at high temperature.
- Bring your favorite watercolors, crayons, charcoal, pencils, etc. if you want to sketch out your painting before applying wax. (I will also have these on hand.) Just about anything works though water-soluble mediums may smear when wax is applied. No acrylic paint—wax and acrylic don’t mix.
- Come with a spirit of exploration and play. Encaustic is often not predictable and has a mind of its own, especially under heat. Be ready to stand back and watch what happens.
About Carol Mell
I grew up in wild Oregon, descended from 49ers, schoolteachers, engineers, painters and photographers. My summers were spent by the ocean and in a gold mining ghost town where trees, sturgeon, squirrels, and whales all spoke to me about belonging and connection.
I still like to play and paint outside where nature finds its way into my paintings. Working in encaustic is exciting for its molten unpredictability. It has presence, can be touched and smelled and shaped. It’s a physical practice, full of scraping, layering, hiding and revealing, always in search of the place where spirit and nature meet.
My paintings, with and without photographs, have been exhibited nationally.
I have sojourned for decades in the Southwest as my creative path wandered through choreography, writing, and photography before settling into painting — though I think of them all as the same conversation, just spoken in different languages with a touch of humor for spice.
www.carolmell.com