The Encaustic Painter's Dozen: Cobalt Blue, Burnt Sienna & Turkey Umber Pale
Julie Snidle, Lichens, 30” x 30”, encaustic on Encausticbord.
We continue our exploration of the Encaustic Painter's Dozen - our new limited edition color set. This week we bring you Cobalt Blue, Burnt Sienna & Turkey Umber Pale. Below three of our artist instructors describe these colors in their own words and share a little about how they use them in their work.
Enjoy and stay tuned for future colors in coming weeks.
Jodi Reeb, Encircle, dimensions variable, encaustic with metallic paints and found objects.
“Cobalt Blue reminds me of the bluest sky, the deep blue ocean, and my son's eyes. Van Gogh noted that 'there is no blue without yellow and orange.' I appreciate this quote because it speaks to the idea that color is altered by what is next to it. Color is relative as it is seen, according to the perception of the eye and the translation from the brain to the mind. I explore this idea in my circular painting installations by grouping complementary color combinations."
- R&F Core Instructor Jodi Reeb
Lorraine Glessner, Windy Mountain, 9.5” x 6.25”, encaustic monoprint on Masa paper.
"I have been a frequent visitor to the western states for much of the past twenty years, most recently to Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, and South Dakota. My work is fueled by the unrestrained and other worldly environments found in these states. Each time I visit, I enter a netherworld of stark wilderness, fervent storms, intriguing flora and fauna, untouched wildlife, and a strange, ever-changing landscape, all of which exhibit a raw volatility and constant regeneration of cyclic life, as well as the interminable struggle between humankind and nature.
I have focused on this struggle in my rusted and plant-stained fabrics, drawings, encaustic paintings, and monotypes. R&F’s Burnt Sienna richly captures the magical landscape of the Utah desert where the earth becomes a Serra sculpture and an O’Keefe painting all at once. I particularly love the range of the semi-transparent quality of this paint - from an orangey-red to a dark pinky-peach. I find Burnt Sienna is best paired with blues, blue-greens, turquoise, a touch of ochre, and a mix of whites for an earthy, dynamic vibrancy."
- R&F Tier Instructor Lorraine Glessner
Julie Snidle, Foliose, 8” x 8”, encaustic on panel.
"Turkey Umber Pale is not the life of the party. It will never shout at you or try to get your attention from across the room. Unlike Turkey Umber Greenish, its hard-edged parent, our quiet friend is a warm and earthy chromatic grey that is quite content letting other pigments take the lead. Turkey Umber Pale may be opaque, but it proudly blends into a woodland fog and can mimic a lichen like nothing else. This sophisticated color is humble about its umber lineage - one of the oldest pigments on the planet - and without fanfare it lives up to its Latin name ombra, which means 'shadow.'"
- R&F Core Instructor Julie Snidle