Fun-a-Day paintings wrap-up

Well, the Fun-a-Day Providence project is complete! I haven't had much time to post much lately, as the entire beginning of February we were buried in snow up here in Douglas. I've been shoveling my brains out for the last week. But more on that later.

Days 29, 30 and 31 are complete!

The last three paintings for the project were small numerals, and relatively simple paintings. At this point, I've been comparing the new numbers to the rest of the grid as I pick out their color, so that I can relate squares to each other in a harmonious pattern.

The wood panel is prepped and ready for the paintings.

This week, I started to wrap up the project, preparing a panel to mount all of the small paintings. I cut some scrap wood to size (14" square), and sanded the edges.

All the paintings line up on the grid correctly!

Once the panel was prepped, I used acrylic medium to seal the wood and bind the paintings to the surface. Some of the paintings have pastel on the surface, so I had to be careful to not smudge them. It was also important to keep the acrylic medium from bleeding around the edges of the numbers so that the encaustic medium would fuse to the surface later.

The completed artwork - Thirty-one Days, 14"x14" mixed media

To seal the surface I added a mixture of melted beeswax and resin (the encaustic medium) which I melted and applied with a brush. I dabbed the wax on so as not to smudge the pastels, and then heated the surface with a heat lamp to smooth the surface and bind it to the paper underneath. This darkens the underlying artwork, but also makes the colors look rich and saturated. I like the fact that now you can touch the surface of the final piece instead of mounting it behind glass.

I'll be hanging the artwork on Thursday for the Fun-a-Day Providence show this weekend. I'm looking forward to all the creative work that will be on display! If you are interested in checking out the show, it runs Friday, February 11th from 7-11pm and Saturday the 12th from 5-10pm at the West Broadway Neighborhood Association, 1560 Westminster Street Providence, RI.

Enjoy!
-Lisa