Ferdinand Frolicking

Ferdinand Frolicking, 22"x30", watercolor & encaustic on panel

Ferdinand is an interesting piece in that he's a little different than the other brightly colored pieces of this collection.  He's much more 3-D than the others. 

When my brother was little, he was in the hospital for a couple of weeks with patches over his eyes from an accident.  My Aunt Jean read several books to him via cassette tape and he listened to them in the hospital.  We also listened to her read those same books over and over on the tape for years thereafter.  Ferdinand was our favorite story and when I saw this little red bull emerge in this piece, he (the little bull) told me that his name was, of course, Ferdinand. VERY special memories rush back to me every time I see him.  Aunt Jean was always very special in my life.

Do my pieces always tell me what to name them?  Most of the time they do.

These brightly colored pieces all have a common process that is utilized to create the image.  I begin with handmade watercolor paper, water and pigment.  I slosh around each color randomly, let the paper dry and then slosh another color on.  Sometimes images are so strong and emerge so quickly, like with Ferdinand, that I feel compelled to include them in the finished piece.  Other times, there is no clear figural image or there is one but I choose to ignore it.  Those pieces generally convey an abstract thought, movement or light.

Ferdinand, as the others like him, continued to be developed further with watercolors until he almost looked like a finished watercolor piece.  Then comes the wax.  Yay!  I mounted the paper to a self-framing board and began the dots. 

I love making the dots of color out of the encaustic wax.  One of the very first things I learned about art was how to mix paint to match any color in the world.  I've carried that over into the wax pigments as well and thoroughly enjoy it.  The colored dots can be larger or smaller, match the paint underneath or be their opposite on the color wheel.  I use them to emphasize certain areas or show where backgrounds are.  Sometimes I make them in patterns just because they're pleasing to the eye.

Ferdinand, just like the little bull in the children's book, chose to be just a little bit different than all the others with the bright colors.  In one of the layers of watercolors, he chose to bend the paper just where his horns are.  I then chose to emphasize his horns.  They are bowed out by the paper as well as thick layers of wax laid down in such a way that the texture almost feels like horns when you touch them.

At that point, Ferdinand himself had to be waxed in a different way.  I applied darker and lighter shades of red wax layers.  The wax was carved through the layers in a stylized manner to create his eyes, muscles and hair and shade his features.  He's truly a very special little bull.