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117 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Detailed information, great gallery, April 29, 2002
This review is from: The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax (Paperback)
I have long been fascinated by the technique of encaustic painting and this book fills a void in references on the subject. It contains a vast array of detailed information on everything from making your own paints to exhibiting your artwork. The book starts out with a history of encaustic art. A gallery section then showcases four different portfolios of art including representation, color and pattern, dimension and modular work. Captions include artist, title, materials used, size and date introduced. Artwork is displayed in a variety of sizes. Some of my favorites are a beautiful face by Tony Scherman and the organic looking "Miasma Morph" by Sylvia Netzer, made of wax with pigment fired on ceramic. The next sections focuses on encaustic materials. It starts out with details on the wax types. A reference chart of all the wax types, their source, composition, properties, melting point, flash point, color range and average price is here too. Information on heating equipment and well as melting and fusing the wax are next. Then pigments and making your own paints is covered. Selecting and caring for brushes is also here. There is even a great section on using materials safely. Painting preparation and techniques follow. These include information on substrates and grounds with step-by-step instructions on how to make your own. Recipes of rabbit-skin glue and gesso, as well as tips on using them are explained as well. Then techniques and tips for textured, smooth, scraped and incised surfaces accompanied by example artwork are given. There are also details on collage, mixed media, creating artwork on paper and making large-scale pieces. I loved the helpful answers common questions such as what are good beeswax mixes, what wax is best for glazing, how does one get rid of bloom and what do if you get a wax burn? In the back of the book there are very helpful resource sections including supply sources, galleries, a glossary and bibliography as well as photo credits and an index. This book is an indispensable reference for anyone wanting to learn about and create encaustic art.
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74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Art of Encaustic Painting, April 14, 2005
This review is from: The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax (Paperback)
All of the reviewers of my book, "The Art of Encaustic Painting," said quite positive things about it and most gave it five stars. Thank you, one and all. However for those two reviewers who described it as "cultish," I'd like you to know how I researched the book:
. I ran a classified ad for two months in Art News asking for "reproduction quality" images of strong encaustic painting.
. I searched the visual data base, maintained by a wax paint manufacturer, of the work of hundreds of artists who work in wax.
. I visited galleries in New York City and elsewhere for at least a decade, taking announcement cards and getting contact information.
. I found very little in the way of representational or figurative work. I did, of course, find some wonderful images, which I included in the book, but percentagewise, the number was small. And it was smaller still because some of the slides were not repro quality or the work did not have the boldness it needed to hold its own in print.
. On this last point--the boldness: By the time you see a work in print, it is many times removed from the original painting. Sublety gets lost, which is why I opted for bold, bright, luminous images.
Since the publication of "The Art of Encaustic Painting," I have found some wonderful figurative and representational painters. Or, should I say, they have found me. But to imply that I somehow selected images from limited group of artists when in fact I made a wide-ranging search, does a disservice to both the art and to me. The fact is that there ARE more artists working abstractly in encaustic that representationally.
If you work representationally or figuratively, I'd like to see your work. Send me a j-peg at joanne@joannemattera.com.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent reference and advise, but a little cultish, February 4, 2002
This review is from: The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax (Paperback)
My comments are those of an amateur, self-taught, new-to-encaustic, artist. I found Joanne Mattera's book to contain more practical information on this exciting medium than any other source so far. The sections on "Preparation and Technique", "Materials for Encaustic", and to a lesser extent "Preparing and Exhibiting Your Work" are especially beneficial. There is plenty of help on mixing-your-own wax, tools, supplies, and ideas. It is not a Step 1-2-3 How To Paint book. The "Porfolios" chapter leads you to believe encaustic is only for the abstract artist. She addresses this issue by stating, "Only a small percentage of contemporary encaustic painting is pictorial, etc...", and with the inclusion of a couple non-abstract images. I get the impression most works are by a select clique of fellow artists. As I paint mostly abstracts myself, the examples were fine. However, the Portfolio would have conveyed this mediums versatility more completely if works of impressionists, such as Dorothy Masom and others, would have been included. It is a book every aspiring encaustic painter should have. Along with "Waxing Poetic:Encaustic Art in America during the Twentieth Century" by Gail Stavitsky. ...
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