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New Work: A White Tornado

“Tornado - Erie, KS - November 27, 2005” Encaustic on Masonite 8″ x 10″ © 2007 Marilyn Fenn
“Tornado – Erie, KS – November 27, 2005” Encaustic on Masonite 8″ x 10″ © 2007 Marilyn Fenn

Here’s another — a really huge tornado. I love how the diagonal lines worked out in this piece. It is again, one of those paintings that’s truly paint first and an image second.

I imagine painting this again in oil, about four times as large, and really abstracting it away from the ‘image’ of a tornado — just abstract shapes of color and texture.

I hope you get a chance to see this painting up close and personal — it is full of beautiful little passages of paint.  Come to my studio for the East Austin Studio Tour this coming November or call me to make arrangements to see this in person.  Check my website for contact info: Contact Marilyn

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New Work: A Tornado Seen from Below

"Tornado From Below" Encaustic on Masonite 8″ x 10″ © 2007 Marilyn Fenn
“Tornado From Below” Encaustic on Masonite 8″ x 10″ © 2007 Marilyn Fenn

I’m not sure where I found the image for this painting, and I really can’t imagine anyone being brave or crazy enough to stand under a tornado and take a photograph.

But it’s a fascinating image, and here’s my take on it.  I love how this painting, like the one I did just before this, straddles that space between abstraction and representation.

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New Work: Encaustic Tornado Painting

"Tornado - Ames, IA - March 30, 2006" Encaustic on Masonite 8″ x 10″ © 2007 Marilyn Fenn
“Tornado – Ames, IA – March 30, 2006” Encaustic on Masonite 8″ x 10″ © 2007 Marilyn Fenn

It felt so good to see my little tornado paintings in the AVAA show, and I’ve always intended to keep painting them until…whenever. So, here’s my first tornado painting in a while; I had started it months ago, but it was too ‘happy,’ so today I took it in a dramatically different direction.

Unlike the abstract encaustic paintings, these semi-representational paintings really require a delicate balance. Because it had been a while since I painted like this in encaustic, my tendency was to let it achieve painting-hood as soon as possible, with as little reworking for the sake of ‘perfecting’ the image as possible. So, for me, the great joy in these first few paintings, when I’m a bit rusty and unsure of my process, is how they sort of straddle the line between abstraction and representation.

After all, they are paint first, and images of tornadoes second.

For a bit of background on the encaustic process, read this previous post on how to paint in encaustic.

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Some Great Feedback! And a Note on Encaustic Surfaces

Snippet of painting: “Tornado – Erie, KS – November 27, 2005″ Encaustic on Masonite 10″ x 8” © 2007 Marilyn Fenn

Sometimes I feel like I ought to have those horrible flashing red and yellow banners on my art site, proclaiming the words that I sometimes get as compliments on my work. But I won’t, because it would be tasteless and annoying to do so. At the very least.

 

 

I will, however, mention a few of those words here:

Mesmerizing….

The luminosity in them is amazing.

Beautiful and terrifying….

Elegant(!)

The thing I will say about the encaustic paintings — the surface is gorgeous! Depending on the application of the paint, you can sometimes see down right through the colors. Also, they all look far better ‘in the paint’ than any digital image of them can possibly convey…

So go see them at the AVAA show, if you get a chance, or come to my studio for the next East Austin Studio Tour (mid-November). Unless they will be shown somewhere else before that, in which case, I will be sure to post about it here and on my website.

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AVAA 30th Anniversary Opening…

…was great! The place was packed with folks all evening long!

"Tornado - Kansas - June 1, 2004" Encaustic on Masonite, Mounted on Plywood Mat and Framed 8" x 10" -- O.D. 15" x 11" ©2006 Marilyn Fenn "Tornado - Clay, AZ" Encaustic on Masonite, Mounted on Plywood Mat and Framed 8" x 10" -- O.D. 15" x 11" ©2006 Marilyn Fenn
TOP: “Tornado – Kansas – June 1, 2004″ Encaustic on Masonite, Mounted on Plywood Mat and Framed 8″ x 10″ — O.D. 15″ x 11” ©2006 Marilyn Fenn
BOTTOM: “Tornado – Clay, AZ” Encaustic on Masonite, Mounted on Plywood Mat and Framed 8″ x 10″ — O.D. 15″ x 11″ ©2006 Marilyn Fenn

Quite a few of my friends came by, and I ran into several other people I knew from other venues. The music by the Atlantics was really good; there was plenty of wine and some great food.

Continue reading “AVAA 30th Anniversary Opening…”

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AVAA 30TH Anniversary Exhibit

"Tornado - Clay, AZ" Encaustic on Masonite 8" x 10" © 2007 Marilyn Fenn
“Tornado – Clay, AZ” Encaustic on Masonite 8″ x 10″ © 2007 Marilyn Fenn

Juried Show at The Dougherty:

avaa-30th-anniversary-postcardA couple of my paintings have been chosen for the Austin Visual Arts Association’s 30th Anniversary Exhibit & Reunion, to be held at the Dougherty Arts Center location, 1110 Barton Springs Road. The show will open on Thursday, June 28, 2007, from 6-9 p.m., and run through July 30. Music by the Atlantics!

This show was juried by Ken Hale, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the UT Department of Art & Art History, Ricardo Hernandez, Executive Director of the Texas Commission on the Arts and Jack White, Renowned and influential Abstract impressionist painter of African American paintings.

For more information about the show, see the Austin Visual Arts Association website: http://www.avaaonline.org/.

Please come see me and my paintings at the opening — Thursday, June 28th, 6-9pm.

Here’s an article about the show in the Austin Chronicle.

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East Austin Studio Tour 2006

"Burning Ice" Oil on Canvas 10" x 10" © 2006 Marilyn Fenn
“Burning Ice” Oil on Canvas 10″ x 10″ © 2006 Marilyn Fenn

The 2006 East Austin Studio Tour was fabulous!   Over 130 people came by my studio, and I even sold quite a few things.  I enjoyed meeting so many art fans and seeing friends in this setting.  I had a lot of fun and will probably do it again next year.