Marie Banville encaustic artist

2011-04-13T22:27:00.002-06:00

Poster for Jasper Artists Guild 2011 Workshops

Another Workshop!

2011-04-13T20:17:00.002-06:00

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by this year! It is exciting to look back and see the work many of my artist friends have created this year ... I wish I could say I had as good of a year. Some setbacks since last summer but things are on track again and I am happy to be travelling back to Jasper over the Easter weekend to present a workshop on Watercolour/Encaustic Fusion.

Encaustic has been my medium for the last 11 years. I love it! I love the colours, the beautiful subtle surfaces and textures, the hidden depths and even the smell and the heat of it.

Last summer I took a multi-media figurative workshop with watercolour artist Jean Pederson (Summer Series Red Deer College 2010). The course was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed getting back into watercolour painting. The kicker came when Jean invited me to bring my encaustic setup into the studio and I started to experiment with bringing the two together. There is a lot of exploration possible in the fusion of these two incredible mediums. The rest of the year (despite those pesky setbacks) have been devoted to a new series playing with watercolour, encaustic and antique science testbooks. I hope to have the series ready to show by Fall 2011. I am excited to share what I have learned with friends in Jasper (and environs) during the JAG workshop. I am also bringing a few new paintings for the Brushfire Gallery so take a peek if you're curious to see some of my new work.

2010-03-30T19:14:00.004-06:00

On April 24 and 25 I will be presenting a workshop on new encaustic techniques. The workshop will be in Jasper, Alberta at the beautiful Brushfire Gallery.

Last summer I studied Encaustic Painting at Spiro Arts Centre, in Utah, with R&F Paint's amazing Daniella Woolf. I learned a lot of new techniques and Daniella gave me some invaluable advice about focus and really inspired me to continue painting.

This workshop will allow me to pass on some of the things I learned and, I hope, to inspire participants to experiment with this wonderful media. Hope to see you there!!

if design govern in a thing so small

2010-03-19T21:41:00.014-06:00

If design govern in a thing so small

I am so excited about this show in Jasper....especially since I will be doing an encaustic workshop for JAG later in April (more info to follow). When I started this series I knew I wanted it to be about the inherent beauty of design that exists in nature. The spiral of a shell, the strength and fragility of a bird’s wing, the symmetry of a star fish, even the interesting structures of spore… the wonder of how perfectly designed things are, not just to fit into their ecological niche but how, in evolving into an organism that becomes what it needs to be to survive, beauty has become part of its intrinsic design.

Spiral Meditation - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

I had started the series based on these ideas when I came across Robert Frost’s poem Design. The poem preoccupied me as I worked on my paintings with the question of what role design, or divine intention, plays in the evolution of beauty in nature… is beauty (the white spider, flower and moth coming together in the night) even if cruel, planned and executed by an exterior force (the divine) or is it just incidental? The question I ask myself is the last line of the Frost poem: does design govern in a thing so small?

Thinking About Maple - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

Design
by Robert Frost

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth --
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches' broth --
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.

What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small.

As an artist, intention or design, is part of the process of creating. These paintings are interactions between the beauty of the image from nature and the created, designed beauty from the hand of the artist.

Significant Discovery (A Long Time Ago) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 20" x 16" - $640

Encaustic is the perfect medium to express this concept. While creating an encaustic painting the artist works not only with a two dimensional surface, composition and colour, but also with heating and cooling; abandoning images deep under layers of wax and laying down new images over them; choosing one image over another because of theme, colour or just intuition. The painting changes over time and sometimes earlier ideas lie buried in the painting’s past. Sometimes a happy accident will create a beautiful mark but just as often a mistake results in having to scrape away or cover up an area. There are always decisions to make about composition, form, colour, contrast and balance.

Beauty is achieved from a series of decisions from the mind and hand of the artist. I think that design does govern even in Frost’s dark drama of the spider, the flower and the moth in the night.

A sample of the works that will be exhibited:

Prediction of Jaunty Gold (Goldfinch) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 20" - $640

Reappearance of Designated Sprightliness (Robin) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage -

16" x 20" - $640

Mellow Reverberation (Echo 2) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 20" - $640

Ethereal Journey Over Rustic lands (Barn Swallow) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage -

16" x 20" - $640

"Buzz" in the Meadow (Meadowlark) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 20" - $640

L'air, son ami - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

Left: Fifi voletant - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128
Right: Raconter les points - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128

Ainsi continuer - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

Left: Sans doute pour me laisser le choix - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128
Right: Gentillesses désagréables - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128

Left: Anatomy of a Polliwog Princess - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128
Right: Mr. Toad Considers His Spine - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128

Evolution of Luminous Energy #1 - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

Evolution of Luminous Energy #2 - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

La Reine des abeilles (I and II) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128 each

Upper left: Coquillage glissant - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128
Upper right: Coquillage cloche - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128
Centre: Existence de luxe - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128

Elegant Revelation - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

Luminous Secret (diagrams a to d) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128 each

Idealized Spore in 4 parts (#1 - #4) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 8" x 8" - $128 each

Transparent Spore (Arcane Knowledge) - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 20" - $640

Spore Diagram with Incidental Joy - Marie Banville - Encaustic Collage - 16" x 16" - $512

Works will be exhibited in Jasper from April 2nd to April 18th. I hope you can be at the opening on April 2nd or catch the show later in the month. If you have any questions please contact me at: mariebanville@hotmail.com or call (403) 872-0701.

Older Work...

2009-06-08T15:34:00.007-06:00

These are pieces from 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. I know this is not a very unified represention but these are some motifs that I would like to continue to explore - I post them for my own benefit - to help me put together some ideas for my next move forward...

Ritual and Archetype

2009-06-08T14:58:00.001-06:00

Some older work....where can I take it from here?

2009-06-08T14:53:00.002-06:00

Parkland View 2009

A Goal - to see past the immediate (mundane and beautiful) and into the profound...

2009-06-08T14:45:00.002-06:00

Prairie Night 2009

Night - subdued emotion in jewel-coloured tones - a time to reflect...

Life Changing Experience?

2009-06-08T14:16:00.003-06:00

Lately I have been asking myself what direction I want my art to go - Should a life changing experience also change the direction my art has been moving or should I continue with what I have been doing. I love painting the colours and textures of the Alberta landscape but have been feeling an urge to return to some earlier motifs and try to work them out more completely.

My mother died in April and this profound experience of losing the person who was my first tie to the earth, my first loved one and the person who largely shaped who I have become, has left me hungry to delve back into ritual and fairy tales. I am going to post some old work on this blog and then, from there, try to develop the images and archetypes in a deeper, more intuitive way.

Autumn Ascent 2

2009-03-11T21:40:00.002-06:00

Autumn Ascent (12" x 24")

Autumn Ascent 1

2009-03-11T21:36:00.002-06:00

Autumn Ascent 1 (12" x 24")

Two New Paintings

2009-03-11T21:21:00.008-06:00

These are my newest paintings - back to the bright colours for a while. I have too much winter around me right now (minus 41C with the wind chill this morning) and I can't even look at those chilly blues!

2009-03-11T21:17:00.001-06:00

My trusty heat gun and old iron - essential tools for an encaustic artist

2009-03-11T20:30:00.002-06:00

This is my palette - on a hot plate - which keeps the wax molten and ready to use.

2009-03-11T15:18:00.002-06:00

Here are pictures of the lovely new panels (birch) and coloured pigments that I just bought.
I love the primary red, colbalt blue and the little pot of gold. I am going to experiment with the gold this week and see what effects I can get.

2009-03-11T15:06:00.003-06:00

Stuff in my Studio

Encaustic (painting with molten wax) is a challenging medium. The hot wax is painted onto the support and has to be fused to the layer below. I love the translucence, textures and vibrant colours. Sometimes though, I wish I had more time to manipulate the wax before it cools.

I work from little thumbnail sketches that I do when I am roaming around. Sometimes I take photos as references, especially for colour. I take a lot of liberties - I am more interested in the abstract qualities of the landscape than trying to reproduce reality.

2009-03-11T13:44:00.002-06:00

Big Plans for 2009

Last week I bought 30 new panels from Paint Spot in Edmonton and they are so well made and light-weight. I also got some new colours of powdered pigments that I have never used before. I am really excited about making some new encaustic paints and starting some new paintings!

My goal is to paint every day, (even if just a bit when I am overwhelmed).

Winter Paintings 2009

2009-01-20T16:55:00.006-07:00

To purchase or get information about any of these paintings please contact IS Gallery:

http://isgallery.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Click on the paintings to see more detail of colour and texture.

Walk by the Frozen River

2009-01-20T16:44:00.003-07:00

The winter river lies frozen and blue-green below the snow-covered hills under the blue, blue Alberta sky.

Windbreak on the Prairies

2009-01-20T16:37:00.003-07:00

Looking through the branches of a lonely windbreak at another more distant line of trees. I love the sense of courage and history that these hardy lines of prairie trees evoke.

Winter Storm in the Foothills

2009-01-20T16:29:00.003-07:00

Even on snowy days in Alberta you can sense the presence of the mountains - past snow-covered grain fields and rolling foothills - they loom just beyond sight...

Winter Morning near Red Deer

2009-01-20T16:20:00.004-07:00

A pale gold wheat field covered with snow - golden light in the clouds - these glimpses of beauty are the inspiration for this painting. Winter colours are muted but lovely.

On Sunday Afternoon on the Prairie

2009-01-20T16:14:00.003-07:00

I really enjoyed trying to capture the movement of the clouds that I saw over the snowy fields one afternoon in December.

Autumn Paintings Nearly Sold Out!!

2009-01-20T16:06:00.006-07:00

I am pleased to say that my Autumn Paintings nearly all have been sold. Thanks to all who have left kind words about them. Next (after some Winter Paintings) is to expand both size of panels and number of galleries. My work can currently be seen at IS Gallery in Red Deer and Brushfire Gallery in Jasper.

Small Lake (sold)

2008-11-15T20:54:00.001-07:00

River Line I and River Line II (sold)

2008-11-15T20:51:00.001-07:00

Placid Lake (sold) and Placid Lake II

2008-11-15T20:48:00.001-07:00

Autumn Day by the River (triptych)

2008-11-15T20:10:00.001-07:00

2008-11-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Walking by the Red Deer river, driving through the countryside around my home - I fall in love with the colours and abstract qualities of the Alberta landscape. The plan is to keep walking and keep painting this area throughout the seasons.

This series of paintings are inspired by the rich harvest colours and the blue blue skies of a beautiful autumn day on the prairies. The medium is encaustic - they are painted using beeswax, resins, and coloured pigments.

My paintings can be seen at: Gallery IS
A Fine Art Gallery in Red Deer, Alberta.
http://isgallery.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

"every day encounter"

2008-04-20T09:58:00.000-06:00

Experimenting with texture here -this painting is about another near miss - missed connection, opportunity, dangerous encounter...

"drawn out and hung up to dry"

2008-04-20T09:48:00.000-06:00

I really like the transparency in this painting - it is about art, bead-making and doing the laundry.

"accelerating through sacred circles"

2008-04-20T00:58:00.000-06:00

I have used the ancient archetype of the circle for many years in many paintings. I am moving into a more abstract style but the sacred circle is moving with me.

"the susceptible phase (of the moon)"

2008-04-20T00:47:00.000-06:00

"the susceptible phase (of the moon)"

This painting is about the connection between a women's emotional state and the waxing and waning of the moon.

First Post

2008-04-20T00:05:00.003-06:00

Time to start a blog! Why? To share my process with anyone who interested in my art. I am an encaustic painter. I use a wax medium (beeswax and plant resins) mixed with powdered pigments to create my paintings. Just click on the images to see the texture of the wax close up.

I'll write more about my technique later. Right now I want to see if I can upload some photos from my current show.