Summer Workshops in Encaustic and Fresco Painting

Hillary demonstrating fusing.

Lost Techniques of the Ancients- Encaustic Painting

Workshop: June 14th & 15th, 2014

Location: Sonoma Academy

2500 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa, CA

Cost: $350 I will supply all paints, mediums, waxes, heating equipment, fusing tools and misc. supplies. You bring the surfaces to paint on. Pre-registration is required and the workshop needs a minimum of six students to run.

Skill level: beginning - advanced

The Ancient Encaustic Process

The ancient Greeks first practiced encaustic painting. The oldest examples are mummy portraits found in Ancient Egypt painted during the Roman Empire. Today there are many contemporary artists working with wax. In this workshop you will get to experiment with different processes to create one or more contemporary pieces as well as a portrait in the ancient tradition.

Student working on a fresco.

Lost Techniques of the Ancients- Fresco Painting

Workshop: August 2^nd & 3^rd, 2014

Location: Sonoma Academy, 2500 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa, CA

Cost: $500. All supplies included. Tools, mortar, boards, paint and brushes will be provided. (It is recommend however to bring your own favorite brushes.) Pre-registration is required and the workshop needs a minimum of five students to run. Skill level: some art experience recommended through advanced.

The Ancient Fresco Process

Fresco painting is the act of taking hand ground pigments and water and applying them to mortar, a wet plaster surface made of a mixture of lime and sand. In this workshop you will be creating one portable fresco based on an ancient work or your own design. You will learn how to grind and prepare your own pigments, and prepare the intonaco (a lime and sand surface on cement board).

Frescoes are one of the most archival of all painting techniques and have lasted thousands of years.

Instructor Bio

In 1995, Hillary Younglove received a grant to paint in Florence, Italy for a year at Studio Art Centers International. During this period she learned the fresco technique and in 1996 started painting with encaustics. In 2010, Hillary received a Fulbright to study the classics at the American Academy in Rome, deepening her knowledge of these ancient techniques, which led to the development of the course, “Lost Techniques of the Ancients” for which she is currently writing a book.

The course that is being offered is an adaptation of the class she currently teaches at Sonoma Academy where she is head of the arts program. In addition to teaching at Sonoma Academy, Hillary has taught for several years at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara extension classes. Her work has been shown both nationally and internationally. Published work includes: the New York Times, Atlantic Records, Essence Magazine, Corriere della Serra, Random House, Barnes & Noble Publishing, Warner Brothers Records and numerous other publications.

Hillary has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and an MA from New York University.

Please contact Hillary Younglove at Hillary.younglove@sonomaacademy.org for a full description of the course and registration.  I look forward to seeing you this summer!

Sonoma Academy, 2500 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95404, (707) 545-1770

www.sonomaacademy.org

Student carving the wax.

Student building texture with wax.

Visit to St. Seraphim

It's always a pleasure to drop by St. Seraphim and talk to Father Patrick and Father Moses about the fresco technique. While fresco painting is still practiced widely throughout Europe it is rarely practiced in the US. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to watch a true fresco in progress so close to home. Every time I visit the church and talk with the monks I learn tips about painting and plastering.

According to Father Moses it is not necessary to have 7-10 layers of thin color. Some colors can be applied with just a few coats. Both he and Father Patrick are constantly learning new things as they paint. For a while mysterious white patchy bits were showing up on the fresco. It turns out that it was due to Father Moses touching the surface while he was painting.

Another thing that I learned was that right before one starts painting, it is good to break up the surface with a trowel. While I have found that I don't necessarily need to do this they prefer to work this way. Their surfaces are perfectly plastered while I prefer to have a somewhat uneven surface with irregularities to give my work an older look. I'm also not a master plasterer!

On the way up to the cupola.