Encausto Redefined

The art of encausto is more than 2000 years old. Pigmented beeswax adorned ships’ hulls, wood panels on mummies, and icons throughout the ages. This ancient art was in wide use during the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine empires. Encaustic paintings were found at the excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii in the 18th Century and sparked a revival of encaustic painting.

In the mid 1950’s, artist Jasper Johns took encausto to a new level bridging texture and mixed medium to this ancient art. Considering that previous uses of encaustic painting had been for portraiture, well defined and patinated, this new direction opened uses of encausto to new possibilities.

The beauty of encausto is that it is so very versatile! It can be used sculpturally in impasto paintings or smoothed and defined. In the 1990’s, artists such as Sylvia Netzer and Heather Hutchinson applied encausto to ceramic and plexi-glass surfaces.

During the past several years, encausto has been redefined in cold applications using acrylic waxes for wall finishes. The possible uses--whether with hot beeswax or cold acrylic wax applications--with fresco, decorative plasters, painted walls, and art are endless. Encausto is a beautiful medium which offers character, durability and a subtle patina.

Please visit www.PeriwinkleSkies.net to view encausto applications on wall finishes, fresco, and decorative plaster enhancers.

Is There Room For Peace In Your Life?

A peaceful room can have a ripple effect on your life. Imagine a quiet place for thinking, exercising, reading, meditating, painting and praying…a place that will renew your mind, body and spirit. You can have a more soulful connection with yourself and the world around you.

All that is needed is a room that is set aside for tranquility. Begin with a clean, empty space. Choose a calming color. A water-based color glaze made with low or no voc (volatile organic compounds) will help to make the room healthy and breathable. Glaze the walls with a soft parchment, color-wash, or lime-wash finish. This will add to the soothing mood of the room.

Natural fibers for chair covers, such as organic cotton or linen will enhance the breathability of your room. Simple window treatments such as bamboo blinds will add just the right touch—and bamboo is a renewable resource, so you can feel good about the choices you are making for the environment and for yourself. Choosing an environmentally responsible product for your floor may take a little research, but it will add to the overall peace that you will breath in and out of your room. Keeping the floor of your peaceful room clean is easiest and most healthy with a terracotta tile, cork, bamboo or wood (from responsibly managed forests). If a floor cover is necessary, might I suggest a painted floor cloth, or a sisal area rug.

May your peaceful room bring you calmness in every aspect of your life and have a ripple effect on all those who are near you.

Decorative Finishes for the Creative Soul

Texture and color are vitally important to the success of your space. When you take the time to meditate on the goals that you have for your room, your ideas will start to fall into place nicely. Do you want to evoke a feeling of warmth and comfort? Or would a room bathed in peaceful relaxation be more in line with your goal? Color and texture can stimulate the senses or remind you of a favorite destination.

Plasters are a wonderful medium for adding texture. They are available in a range from sandy all the way to glassy or velvety. In addition, most plasters can be applied with a variety of tools. Trowels and application blades offer versatility in rendering smooth or distressed finishes. Blade marks and pitted areas are often beautiful additions to a plaster finish.

Color can be mixed directly into the plaster, and layers can vary in tonal value in order to add to the feeling of warmth and comfort. To create a peaceful, meditative feeling, un-tinted plasters can be very affective when a translucent-color glaze is applied afterward.

Choosing your palette of colors effectively will depend heavily on the feeling that you wish to evoke and on the elements that belong in the room and its adjoining areas. A monochromatic palette can be very effective when you plan to use your darkest tones lower in the room to visually ’anchor’ your space. Keeping your palette quiet and simple brings a soothing feeling to a bedroom or entryway. While a limited range of colors can offer more stimulating results for a dining room, kitchen, or a place of work.

Your creative soul will guide you well if you visualize your goals and stay on coarse.

Faux Limewash

Creating a beautiful faux limewash simply requires careful peripheral vision and a proper colorwash technique. Four colors are employed to produce this lightly textured Mediterranean finish. Prepare the walls with 2 coats of soy or clay based paint with an eggshell finish in a creamy hue. After the basecoat is cured, apply glaze mixture as a colorwash in a wedgewood blue hue on 95% of the wall. After the first coat of glaze is dry, colorwash the second coat of glaze mixture in a raw sienna hue to 70% of the wall. The 3rd color is a mixture of venetian red, glaze and water which is fly-specked to 5% of the wall with an old toothbrush—touch up any drips with a dampened cheesecloth. The final coat of the glaze mixture is applied as a colorwash in a burnt umber hue. This finish dries quickly and is quite durable.


Glaze recipe:
Mix 1 quart water-based glaze, 3 cups water-based wallpaper paste, 1 cup finely textured natural sand, and 2 teaspoons of dry pigment. Mix thoroughly and re-stir often.

Aromatherapy For Your Walls

For a relaxing retreat try making a scented wax paste to seal your beautiful wall finishes. Beeswax offers a warm patina and a durable finish.

Place 2 oz. of beeswax in a low glass jar. Place the jar in a pan of hot water over a low heat. After the wax has melted, remove the jar from the pan and stir in 3 oz. of natural citrus thinner. After this is well mixed, gently stir in ¼ tsp. of aroma-therapeutic oil such as rosemary, lavender, or peppermint. Set the mixture aside to cool to a wax paste. Apply the wax with a lint-free cloth and buff to a beautiful patina.

Caution: wax is flammable, heat over a low flame; also, keep the room well ventilated when pouring the natural citrus thinner into the melted wax.

Enjoy your peaceful space!

Gorgeous Cabinetry that’s easy on the environment and fits your budget!

Decorate with a “green” flair! Save money and minimize your environmental impact by renewing and reusing your kitchen cabinets. Additional molding will reshape the profile and façade of your cabinets. After any necessary repairs are made and the cabinets have been properly cleaned and prepared, milk paint and glazes can add additional beauty. Milk paint is natural, has no voc’s (volatile organic compounds), is easy on the environment, highly durable, authentic (milk paint has been used for thousands of years), and is available in an array of beautiful colors.

After the milk paint has been lightly sanded and buffed, it can be polished and sealed with natural beeswax. Renewing your kitchen cabinets is a great way to improve the beauty, value, and functionality of your kitchen. Reusing your kitchen cabinets is cost effective and greatly reduces waste and your carbon footprint!

Painting Green: a Call to Decorative Artists

I believe that a sustainable business survives by holding to 3 core values: quality, understanding, and valuing personal, cultural and environmental impact. In the field of decorative painting, we as artists are often exposed to toxic products. The EPA has estimated that architectural coatings account for almost 9% of the voc emissions from all consumer and commercial products. VOC is the amount of material coming from the paint as it dries. New technology brings low and no voc (volatile organic compounds) formulas to latex paint. However, synthetic dyes add voc’s back into the paint. We need to become responsible as consumers by using ‘green’ products, and we need to become responsible producers by employing healthful techniques. In this way we can provide beautiful artwork without harmful effects to ourselves, our clientele, or the environment.Wonderful techniques and products can be found in ancient art. Distemper paints made from water, vegetable glue/or eggs, and ground pigments, have been applied in decorative artwork for thousands of years. Lime-based paints have covered large surfaces for centuries, and have recently made a comeback due to their rich texture and durability. Lime-based plasters range from shiny to satinated to matte, fulfilling the duties of form and function—both sustainable and gorgeous! Casein paints are a combination of milk and ground pigments, providing durability and excellent color for furniture and wood floors.The combination of these products revives the ancient techniques of fresco and encaustic painting. Frescoes employ lime based plasters and milk based paints to create a naturally durable and unique medium for an artist to express the individual style of their client. Encaustic painting is characterized by its hushed patina. This pigmented bees-wax can be applied in either a hot or cold technique. The hot technique is used with a heated tray to keep the wax supple, while the cold technique combines a solvent to soften the wax. Most solvents are toxic, however, Earth Paint Inc. makes a fantastic pure citrus solvent that is effective and ‘green’.If you prefer ready-made rather than homemade products, keep these basic standards in mind: healthful paints and plasters should be derived from healthy, natural materials like clay or soy; make sure that the ingredients are listed and the additives are simple—synthesized molecules tend not to break down easily in the environment; use mineral or earth pigments whenever possible—they are colorfast and do not add voc’s to your paint or plaster. The Green Expo will be coming to the Hilton NY in NYC (53rd St and 6th Ave) from April 25th-27th , 2008. The ‘business goes green’ event is planned for Friday. The expo will run from 10-6 on Saturday, and 10-3 on Sunday. Tickets are $10 (seniors and children can attend for free). Organic, fair trade and environmentally sustainable products for personal, home and business use will be featured.

‘Green’ paint and plaster resources:
milkpaint.com
greenerbuilding.org
bioshieldpaint.com
afmsafecoat.com
earthpaint.net

Gustave Courbet

at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 18

This exhibition presents some 130 works by the French artist Gustave Courbet (1819–1877), a pioneering figure in the history of modernism. On display are pieces that range from his seminal manifesto-paintings of the 1850s, to views of his native Ornans, to portraits of his friends and family. They are accompanied by a selection of 19th-century photographs that relate to his work, especially his landscapes and nudes. See the exhibition preview for more information, including sponsorship credits.

Family classes on Sundays at the Met!

The Metropolitan Museum invites families to participate in a series of classes that encourage curiosity and enthusiasm about art. Each class, intended for children ages six through twelve and their adult companions, is limited to twenty participants.

Registration is required and is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information and to register, please call 212-570-3961 or email familyprograms@metmuseum.org .Meets in the Uris Center for Education.
Fee $150 per person, per monthly class.

Cool stuff going on at the Museum of Modern Art this March!

Get some spring in your step at MoMA with brilliant new exhibitions and unconventional projects. MoMA is especially excited about Color Lab, an interactive space for families, and an online project (starts March 17) documenting the real-time assembly at MoMA of five prefabricated homes. Don't forget, the Museum stays open Tuesday, March 18.

Black History Month at the MET!
The Museum's annual celebration of Black History Month includes an array of special programs highlighting the achievements of Africans and African-Americans in the literary, performing, and visual arts.

The following films are free with Museum admission:
Jacob Lawrence: An Intimate Portrait (1993)

Tuesday, February 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall,
Uris Center for Education

Directed by Grover Babcock and Elvin Whitesides. The life and work of artist Jacob Lawrence, with a focus on his creative development (24 min.).

The Art of Romare Bearden (2003)

Tuesday, February 19 at 2:00 p.m.

Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education

Directed by Carroll Moore. Describes how Bearden's paintings and collages captured the diversity and richness of his life with its unique blend of cultural influences (34 min.).

Living Memory: Six Sketches of Mali Today (2003)

Thursday, February 21 at 2:00 p.m.

Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education

Directed by Susan Vogel. Overview of ritual arts, culture on display, style, architecture, contemporary artists, and music in present-day Mali (53 min.).

In recognition of African influences on both art and culture, the Museum is offering an array of Gallery Talks (free with Museum admission).

Available online now:
Romare Bearden: Let's Walk The Block
A guided tour of Harlem street life through the eyes of the artist himself, music by the Branford Marsalis Quartet, and activities designed for kids, parents, and teachers.

Podcast Episode: The African Artist El Anatsui
Curator Alisa LaGamma speaks with artist El Anatsui about his work, including the sculpture Between Heaven and Earth, which was recently installed in the Met's African art galleries.

MoMA exhibit update

Try to visit this exhibit before it leaves the MoMA!

Museum of Modern Art, NYC
New Perspectives in Latin American Art, 1930–2006:
Selections from a Decade of Acquisitions
November 21, 2007–February 25, 2008

This exhibition presents some two hundred works by Latin American artists that have been added to the collection over the past ten years. The works on view embrace several artistic mediums and comprises a variety of styles, from early modernism and geometric abstraction to informalism and conceptual art. /New Perspectives in Latin American Art/ surveys the wide range of these recent acquisitions and features both historical and contemporary Latin American artists, including Joaquín Torres-García, Alejandro Otero, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape, Carmen Herrera, Geraldo de Barros, Leo Matiz, Willys de Castro, León Ferrari, Gego, Gerd Leufert, Mira Schendel, Waltercio Caldas, Anna Maria Maiolino, Victor Grippo, Guillermo Kuitca, Arturo Herrera, Gabriel Orozco, Carlos Garaicoa, and Santiago Cucullu.

New Finish

Limewash finish with painted details
This limewash technique imitates the old lime walls that can be found in many towns throughout Italy. There is a slight dimensional texture highlighted by the use of multiple glazes. Linework and stencil details were added for elegance.

Awesome Video

Awesome video by philip scott johnson features selected female portraits spanning 500 years in western art. johnson has adeptly strung together beautiful art by metamorphosing one image into the next. the visual experience is set to bach's sarabande from suite for solo cello no. 1 in g major 1007 performed by yo-yo ma. wow!
check it out at:
selected female portraits spanning 500 years in western art

New Finish

Porcelain crackle and antiqued red linen finish
This finish is particularly suitable for home offices and studies. Sophisticated and subtle with the look of natural aging.

December Exhibits

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000-5th Ave NYC

The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Drawings, prints and paintings by renowned artists from the Dutch
Renaissance such as Rembrandt, Cuyp, Hals, and Vermeer. Hundreds of
masterpieces on exhibit until January 6, 2008.

The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti’s
These doors are masterpieces known for their beautifully narrated reliefs of biblical subjects.After more than 25 years, the conservation of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s doors for the Baptistery in Florence—called the Gates of Paradise—now in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, is nearing completion. This exhibition will provide the American public with an unprecedented opportunity to see three of the doors’ famous narrative reliefs, with their masterful retelling of Old Testament subjects, as well as four figural sections from their opulent surrounding frames, before they are permanently installed in the museum. The panels and elements from the doorframe—two of its supremely elegant figures of prophets and two decorative heads set in roundels—represent the sculptor’s intense involvement in this project, a seminal monument of the Italian Renaissance, during the 27 years (1425–1452) of its creation.
October 30, 2007–January 13, 2008


The Jewish Museum, 1109-5th Ave NYC

Exhibit: Camille Pissarro: Impressions of City and Country
Drawings, paintings and sketches by preeminent French Impressionist
Camille Pissaro, on exhibit until February 3, 2008. These works of art
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) was one of the pre-eminent French Impressionists and the only artist who showed his work in all eight of the Impressionist exhibitions (1874–1886). This exhibition brings together more than 50 paintings and works on paper in New York area public and private collections that explore the motifs Pissarro found in the rural and urban locales where he traveled and lived. Growing up in the Caribbean in a Sephardic Jewish family, Pissarro later became interested in anarchism and the plight of the poor. This exhibition examines the social ideologies and aesthetic theories that concerned Pissarro during his long career, through themes such as work and leisure, retreat from city life, and transitions in time and place, as seen in his Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist works.

September 16, 2007 - February 03, 2008, The Jewish Museum, 1109 5th Ave., New York City

Exhibit

Drawings and Prints from Holland's Golden Age: Highlights from the Collection

This installation will display a selection of drawings and prints by artists active in Holland during the 17th century, chosen from the Museum’s collection. The works will include pieces by Rembrandt van Rijn, Jacob van Ruisdael, Albert Cuyp, Adriaen van Ostade, Willem Buytewech, and Jacques de Gheyn II.

September 18, 2007–January 6, 2008, Museum Hours — Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Ave., New York City