Courtesy R&F Handmade Paints

After spending all day sitting at my desk, click-click-clicking away on my computer, I savor getting out and being active, especially if I’m learning a new activity or skill. It’s the difference between reading through the steps of a complicated, unfamiliar process and actually seeing it performed in front of me. That’s one of the reasons why the Artist Daily Video Gallery is so useful. The clips and instructional videos give viewers the opportunity to observe fellow artists and instructors as they work. The images are clear, there’s a strong focus on methods and materials, and it allows one to learn the steps of an intricate technique with real-time footage.

Courtesy R&F Handmade Paints Photo (bottom) by Andy Uzzle.

Recently, I attended an encaustic-painting class held by artist Beverly Ryan, and it reminded me how important it is to closely observe an artist’s creative process when one is trying to learn new techniques. Encaustic painting is an ancient method in which the artist applies melted pigmented wax to a surface (usually this is wood, but canvas and other supports can be used). The Egyptian Fayum mummy portraits were created using this technique, and still look almost untouched by the passage of time. Their durability is due to the fact that the paint is wax-based and highly resistant to moisture and mold. As a result, they are also less prone to deterioration, yellowing, and discoloration than paintings done in other mediums.

As Ryan and her students created their works, they all seemed to echo one answer when I asked them why they enjoyed this medium— it provides great flexibility. Encaustics allow an artist to combine various techniques and media, such as carving, sculpting, painting, grisaille, faux finishing, drawing, printmaking, inlay, collage, and photo transfer. Seeing the diversity of works produced in the class reinforced this idea, and I was able to see that there is almost no end to the mutability of encaustic painting. 

Before seeing Ryan’s demo and her students’ work, I didn’t fully understand what creating an encaustic painting entailed, even though I’d seen plenty of finished encaustic works. Observing the process firsthand, I was able to come away with an understanding of the fundamentals, which would have taken a lot more time if I hadn’t been able to see the process in action. The Artist Daily Video Gallery can give you that same kind of advantage. It is essentially a video library that covers drawing, oil painting, watercolor, and pastel, and features instructional tutorials as well. It’s a resource that only keeps getting better as more and more artists join in and share their own clips, so don’t hesitate. Upload yours here! And to see more of Beverly Ryan's encaustic artworks like the ones below, visit her website.

Beverly Ryan's encaustic paintings, such as Flying Carpet (left) often combine figurative and abstract imagery and striking color combinations. Leigh Palmer's work (Poet's Woods, right) attests to the moody, atmospheric effects of encaustics mixed with oil paint. Martin Kline builds up sculpture-like texture in his encaustic works, as in Green Bloom (center).

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