A few weeks ago, I was invigilating the O Level examinations at a secondary school. Before each examination began, all the students would say a prayer, cupping their hands. One day I was struck by a boy's hands as he prayed. He had long slender fingers and his right and left hands touched each other lightly at the finger tips, creating a graceful concave form. At home looking over my wax studies, I suddenly saw a pair of praying hands in this work below. Can you see the hands of prayer?
Inspired, I began to make more drawings of these hands. Here they are. Can you see the hands of prayer?
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| Wax and Chinese ink on paper |
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| Wax, pastel and Chinese ink on paper |
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| Wax, pastel and Chinese ink on paper |
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| Wax, water colour and Chinese ink on canvas board |
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| Wax, water colour and Chinese ink on paper |
The cupped hands are evident in all the pieces. My favourite is the first piece, it is subtle & gentle.
ReplyDeleteWhat is effect of encaustic wax on fabric ?
Ideally the fabric should be stretched on a frame so that the liquid wax can be applied evenly with a brush. If the fabric is not stretched, the wax may seep through the fabric and then harden, gluing the fabric to the surface underneath.It should work on natural fibres, but the thicker the fabric (eg canvas)the harder you need to apply the wax. I've been working mainly with paper and gessoed canvas.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned cracks occurring on waxed surfaces. Are cracks made on waxed surfaces to encourage paint, ink, pastle to 'seep' through, like in the batik ?
I can see droplets of colours. Are colours applied to the unbroken waxed surfaces?
Yes,the incised lines I make do like cracks, and ink or watercolour that is brushed over the wax surface will seep through. Unlike batik, the wax is not removed or removed only partially. The droplets are the ink or water colour that has resisted the wax - i like the texture they produce!
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