Dates for Encaustic Workshops

Now that I have finished my 13months of creating my latest encaustic and mixed media abstracts, "The Lightness of Being",  I am looking forward to meeting new students and adding friends into my life.
I am happy to announce that I look forward to teaching regular encaustic workshops and sharing dozens of techniques that you probably wouldn't learn from other encaustic workshops since I have been working in this medium for over 20 years and I share everything I know.

I will start each day with a demo that can show you how to use mark marking, stenciling and oil glazes, and more, not just basic application of the hot wax. You will learn how to apply and fuse collaged layers, and discover the magic of creating with a gas torch. (If you really are timid about fire, there are heat guns available).

Learn how to use transparency to allow softening and pushing back strong colors. You will have up to 5 boards to work on so you can try different techniques. Everything is supplied.

No experience is necessary. I will work with beginners and developing artists alike. Included in the workshops is the history of encaustic, safety in the studio, how to make your own paint and the basic technique of encaustic painting.

All classes are 10 am to 4 pm, with a break for lunch and conversation.

Special arrangements for other dates can be made if you have 3 or more people interested in a workshop. Private classes are available.

Dates of workshops:

June 17 & 18, full

 July 15 & 16, full

August 19 & full
September 12 & 13 full

November 11th & 12th & 13, room for 1 more.
Dec.12 & 13.
Jan, 2020 16 & 17
Feb. 10 & 11 full
March 9 & 10 full
​April 20 & 21

$100 deposit required upon registration. Contact me at ezswhan4art@gmail.com and I will send you an invoice by PayPal .Private workshop:6 hours of individual attention: These are tailored to your needs; anything you want to learn and focus on. I am specializing in private classes, because so much can be accomplished.  You can take a cab ( taxis are inexpensive in San Miguel) or drive. Directions on my website; http://www.ezshwan.com/directions-to-studio.html

One day private workshop; $275 plus $40 materials fee 10 am to 4pm
Two day private workshop,; $550 $60 material fee

​deposit of $100 required.
​
​Two person One day workshop, $165 plus $30 materials fee​ 10 am to 4pm

THESE GROUP CLASSES ARE INTENDED FOR AT LEAST 3 PEOPLE. If you have 3 or more people interested, I will plan around your schedule.

THESE ENCAUSTIC GROUP CLASSES ARE INTENDED FOR AT LEAST 3 PEOPLE.

One Day Workshops: $125 USD plus $25 materials fee 10 am to 4pm

Two Day Workshops: $250 USD plus $40 materials fee 10am to 4 pm

Three Day Intensive: $350 USD plus $60 materials fee. 10 am to 4 pm

A deposit of $100 required at registration. The remainder of the fee can be paid the first day of class, in pesos at the exchange rate of the day, or a U.S. check

Day 1 & 2 of the encaustic workshop will cover all the basics, including information about how to make paint, about the commercial paints and their applications, about supports, grounds and techniques: paint application, fusing, glazing, inscribing and mixed media approaches, safety, materials, demos of applying paint, glazing, fusing, How to get that smooth surface! Introducing mixed media, creating lines and texture.. I will emphasize how these techniques can be developed to create a unique encaustic language for each student. I will talk (and demo) how to create glaze layers, as well as some special techniques like inscribing. You will leave with a printout containing all the information you need as well as a list of suppliers.
I give participants a thorough introduction to the encaustic medium method. Artists with backgrounds in almost any medium will find these workshops are an exciting opportunity to expand their visual vocabulary with wax. Some who attend have some familiarity with encaustic, others don't, but want to expand their artistic experience. This mix of artists adds to the learning experience and often inspires all to try new techniques.

In the advanced classes, we focus on surfacing, embedding, transparencies, glazing and hot pen, image transfers, India ink mark making and more. We will explore combining oil and encaustic and dipping. You should have several finished paintings after the workshops.

I will supply all the materials, encaustic paint. brushes, support panels, electric tools, scrapers and propane torches, as well as showing how you can make your own paints and set up your own encaustic studio.

If you want to bring some things to collage you can. Old drawings or prints or photographs can combine with encaustic, but the paper must be porous and not glossy or coated. Encaustic works with almost anything but acrylic or plastics.

Experiment with all the materials and create your own finished encaustic paintings in class.

The workshops are held in my home studio from 10 a.m. to  4p.m. each day. This allows the participants hundreds of examples of my encaustic painting over the last 14 years, including "what not to do!"

Cancellations 2 weeks before workshop will receive a full refund. 1 week before, 30% will be refunded. No deposit refunds after that.

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Advanced Encaustic Techniques

When a student signs up for private classes, there is no telling what an interesting encaustic adventure we will have because so much can be experienced in a one to one class.

Norleen is an artist who has worked mainly in watercolor and acrylic so encaustic was a new experience. She picked up using the torch quickly and was not looking to make an encaustic painting to hang on her wall. She wanted to experience as many techniques as possible in two days.

Using oil sticks to add shading to the encaustic

conquering the gas torch

Bringing up the underneath layers applying more heat

Norleen experienced many techniques in the 4 encaustic panels she created.

Group classes are fun, particularly when a person is open to in-put from others in the workshop.

A New Year and a New Encaustic Direction

As many many of us do at the beginning of a new year, I have reviewed my feelings about my art and teaching.

It has been over 20 years that I have been working in encaustic and experimenting with techniques and I have had countless wonderful students in my workshops; and have formed lasting friendships with some of them.

 I realize at this point in my long life even though I do love to share everything I know about working in encaustic with other serious artists, I am more interested in working with private students. I can work shoulder to shoulder with artists, giving the entire focus of my experience on whatever they want to learn and create.

So, if you want an intensive experience in advanced encaustic techniques and using encaustic in mixed media, let's arrange 2 or 3 days working together in my studio, where I have all the tools at my finger tips.

This does not mean that I will not happily give introductory classes, but I will not post scheduled dates; instead,  offer you the opportunity to arrange your own group of friends at the dates that are convenient for you.

Contact me to set up your private time with me.

Check out the new works:http://www.ezshwan.com

encaustic and oil

encaustic, ink wash, transfer

watercolor, ink, transfers, rice paper

it delights me to share everything I know about painting in encaustic

May workshop

We had a lot of fun and many laughs in this workshop!

The link below is a flip book of previous workshopsL

https://www.flipsnack.com/7CAFB586AED/ezshwans-encasutic-workshops-san-miguel-de-allende.html?b=1&p=16

Fun With Fire

There were 4 participants in today's workshop, and what started out with trepidation because they have never used the gas touch for a couple of people, turned out to be a fusing fiesta. All became comfortable with the torch quickly and proceeded to create unique encaustic paintings.

Oh No!

As I was trying to edit my workshop posts, somehow posts from my other blog appeared and I can't get rid of them. Years of workshop posts are still available if you scroll down to the very bottom to the lists of postings. If anyone can tell me how to get rid of the other blog posts, please help me.

Dates of cold wax and oil workshops

I am having a challenge posting the information abut the classes on the side of the blog, so here it is:

Special dates can be arranged for private or groups with 3 or more people . Contact me by email to arrange times and dates: ezshwan4art@gmail.com
COLD WAX AND OIL workshops
Oct. 16 & 17th 10am to 3 pm
Nov. 13 & 14, 10 am to 3 pm.
Two Day Workshops: $250 USD plus $20 materials fee

This workshops include transportation from La Comer. I will pick you up at 9:45 am and take you back around 3pm. or you can take a cab or drive. Directions on my website; http://www.ezshwan.com/directions-to-studio.html

$100 deposit required.

   

Cold Wax Classes

cold wax and oil on cradled panel

I am adding cold wax and oil to my workshops. The prices will be a bit less than the encaustic classes. The materials cost will be $20 rather than the $40 for the encaustic.

cold wax and oil on panel

cold wax and oil on panel

cold wax on cradled panel

Another encaustic experience

It is a wonderful privilege to introduce artists to the encaustic technique. Paul, an accomplished artist with Disney wanted to add encaustic to his field of art techniques. We covered a lot of techniques in the one day he was working with me in the studio.
His main interest was creating textured layers, so one of the first things I showed him was spraying water into the molten wax.

A Three Day Workshop

I enjoy working with artists who have some experience with encaustic, we can go right into advanced techniques.

Michelle from North Carolina, visited San Miguel for the first time and spent 3 days with me covering everything she wanted to try. Michelle has been working with encaustic for 5 years and wanted to expand the options in this wonderful medium. She was not interested in making finished paintings, she just wanted to experiment, take notes and learn as much as she possible could.

After the third day she said that her head was full of information and she would be able to incorporate these new techniques when she gets back to her own studio.
We covered; creating a glass smooth surface with no air bubbles, incising and filling with encaustic, using stencils , shellac glue burn, transfers, oil glazes, cold wax and oil, drawing on very thin rice paper and applying as an overlay.

Here are some of her experiments:

Michelle's first time working with cold wax and oil

Her first successful transfer

incising through several layers of clear encaustic

more scraping

cold wax and olf

Another successful transfer

lots of techniques in this one

rice paper drawing, India ink, stylus, blue incising,and drawing with a wax pencil

stencil, dry brush layering

transfer, oil glaze, shellac burn

How Many Techniqes Can We Try in One Day?

Joy has been working in encasusic for about 10 years and she wanted to add some advanced techniques to her list of things she already knew. While visiting San Miguel, she spent a day with me as a private participant. We covered transfers on parchment paper, oil glazes, India ink, charcoal for texturing, shellac glue burn and I showed her how to make prints on the very thin rice paper we get here in Mexico.

Letting the torch do the work

Transfer and oil glazes

Encasutic workshops in San Miguel de Allende

http://www.flipsnack.com/7CAFB586AED/ezshwans-encasutic-workshops-san-miguel-de-allende.html

This link will take you to a Flipbook that give you a bit of the charm of making art with me in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Another private class

Look what can be done in a private class. This student had taken a 2 day introductory workshop with me a few years ago and wanted to create her favorite landscape in encasutic. She said, "This is hard", but she did it. I introduced oil glazes and scraping to her. What do you think?

Look What Can Be Done in One Day

O.K, Janice has experience with encaustic and makes some lovely paintings for her gallery in Bend Oregon, but she wanted to have a longer private class to experience my way of painting figuratively and the new techniques I showed her. The results are lovely, don't you think?

Beautiful encaustic painting completed by the end of the day.

Encaustic Beginners

Yesterday I spent a day with two beautiful sisters,  from Texas. They are visiting San Miguel de Allende with their parents.

They had never tried encaustic and they only had one day to experience painting with hot wax and torches.

Perhaps, because they came with no expectation, and are young and open, they picked up the technique fast.

Here's what they produced by the end of the day.

Sydney

Katelyn

2 more private encaustic students

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I had the privalige of sharing lots of advanced encaustic techniques with 2 more class participants. I feel as if not only am I sharing much of my encaustic experience, I am making new friends.

Lucy

Carol

Dana from North Carolina

I was privileged to meet another artist, who came to San Miguel for the first time to take a three day private workshop with me.

Dana has been a working artist for years, specializing in murals and faux finishing, but never tried encaustic before. We covered everything from the basics of the history, ventilation, making medium to advanced techniques. She had a natural feel for the torch and immediately created glass-like surfaces and moved into more texturing.

During our break time we shared our stories and became better acquainted.

Using the hot pen to build dots and lines

I love giving the private classes. We can cover a lot.