Otty Merrill and Victoria Pittman delivered an exciting encaustic painting workshop at 26 Split Rock Cove from July 25 – 27. Students learned the basics on Day One – including prepping their boards, applying the wax and pigment, scraping, burnishing. They quickly moved into embedding photographs, letters, and objects, photo transfers on wax, and finally using silk fabric patterned with copper and brass patinas in a shibori-like technique to add mysterious into their final paintings. Here Laura Nelson uses a sharp tool to draw a self-portrait into the wax. Kathleen Ludman displays a work in progress. And Gayle Rosen and Elizabeth Owen are prepping boards and using heat guns to fuse the layers of wax.

Victoria and Otty share a light moment in the studios. Gayle Rosen’s work area is filling up with paintings. And a piece of silk patina gets embedded with wax.

Seductive and full of possibilities! The encaustic workshop gave students a lot to think about.