Mindset

Mindset, mixed media, encaustic, 2013

A  work from this summer...finished or not...that is always the question. I may go back and rework it. 

A Book of Completed Frescoes/The Little Creatures Series

Fresco Little Creatures by Hillary Younglove |

Here's a link to a $20 discount with Blurb, the company I use to self-publish.

http://bit.ly/ZvR8Ae

Plastering Tips

Armadillo, 2013

Today I learned some plastering tips from Father Moses at St. Seraphim. One of the reasons I was getting an uneven surface was because I did not keep polishing - essentially compressing the surface every 45 minutes or so with a trowel before painting. By doing this you break up the crystallization happening on the top and allow the pigment to seep into the surface.

Even though I sometimes get a blotchy or uneven surface I like the effect. It just makes it look more like an old fresco. However, it is good to understand how to get a perfectly smooth surface when you want one.

Before plastering I got to climb up the scaffolding to the top of the dome to see how they started their Christ figure. Exciting!

Sardines

Sardines, encaustic, 36x48, 2013

Reflections on my obsession with the head and the brain. Visual metaphors of feelings. Here's a new piece using encaustics and oil pastels. Looking back over the last 20 years I see  a constant theme.

Self-Portrait, encaustic, mixed media, 1996

This is my first encaustic. Originally I had painted brains spilling out of my head. Maybe I should have left them there.

Brooding, photo watercolor, 1990

Another self-portrait when I was making clay sculptures, photographing them and painting them with watercolors. A time when I felt the weight of the world upon me.

Indignant Rabbit

Indignant Rabbit, Fresco 2013

Here is the latest fresco from my creature series. I may fit one more in this summer. If you are in the area I've got a few frescoes hanging at Studio Barn Diva in Healdsburg for a month or so.

Two Week Show at the SA Gallery

Working on another Book

 I am winding up teaching my second class on Lost Techniques of the Ancients and am in the process of making a book with Blurb http://bit.ly/ZvR8Ae   If you click on the link you can get a coupon for $20 off your first book. I've made several and love the quality. It should be done this summer and will include images and projects from the classes of 2012 & 2013.

My amazing students painting their first frescoes.

Karishma starting her fresco.

Karishma doing detail work. The painting is a detail from an Indian wall painting.

Luisa copying a Diego Rivera piece.

Visit to St. Seraphim / Frescoes in Progress

Father Moses explaining the fresco technique.

Students from the Lost Techniques class viewing St. Seraphim frescoes.

Father Moses demonstrating the plastering process.

Finished frescoes in the church.

This sinopia will eventually be painted over with color.

Father Patrick the painter.

A preliminary sketch.

On March 5th I took my Lost Techniques of the Ancients class to the St. Seraphim church in Santa Rosa. How lucky we are to have a church right near the school that has real examples of frescoes in progress! There are very few places in the United States where fresco painting is still being practiced. Both Father Moses and Father Patrick explained the plastering and painting process of making a fresco. Treat yourself to a visit to the St. Seraphim church if you are in Northern California!

Jester of Choler & Overcome by Ferns

Jester of Choler, encaustic/mixed media, 2013

Detail of face with ferns.

"Ferns", encaustic, mixed media, 2013

Two weeks of vacation allowed me time to paint two large encaustics. I've started experimenting with more collage elements and incorporating elements of nature into my portraits.

Pigments and Puppets from 2,000-40,000 Years Old

Pigments from Ancient Rome/ British Museum

I am always fascinated to see basic tools from thousands of years ago that show the artist at work. I stumbled upon this image as I was researching a great collection of encaustic mummy portraits from the British Museum collection. They currently have a show on artwork from the Ice Age some 40,000-10,000 years old!
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/ice_age_art/about_the_exhibition.aspx

The oldest puppet or doll: an articulated figure made of mammoth ivory

On loan from Moravian Museum, Anthropos Institute