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by Kathryn Bevier     

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Enkaustikos has quite a few blues to offer you, so how do you choose the ones that are right for you? We all know the tried and true, like Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean and Cobalt, but what about the colors that you might be less familiar with?

Let me back it up to just a few weeks when we were having a discussion on making room for another color. I know it seems crazy that we would consider adding another color when we have 86 colors to choose from. So it looked like we'd have to let a color go and the dark blues were the ones in question. "They all look alike on the rack", was a by-standers comment. That was all I needed to hear, it was like I became Underdog all of a sudden ready to rescue and defend.

It is true; when you look at Prussian Blue, Anthraquinone Blue, Phthalo Blue Red Shade and Phthalo Blue Green Shade on the display rack or it the Hot Cakes tin, they do look alike. What you are looking at is their masstone. What you are not seeing is their undertone, their transparencies, the way they mix with other colors, in other words, their nuances. As easily seen in the image of these four blues, they each have different personalities. You might enjoy the subtleties of Prussian Blue, that beautiful teal only Phthalo Blue Green Shade can give you, the vibrant glaze created with Phthalo Blue Red Shade, or the sophisticated mixes from Anthraquinone Blue. We want the choice to be yours.

Whether you are trying to choose a blue or a red, an earth tone or metallic, we hope you will let the color descriptions on our website help in your decision.  In case you don't already know this, we have a color chart on our website that you can download for easy access to all of our colors.

The image shows Prussian Blue, Phthalo Blue Green Shade, Phthalo Blue Red Shade and Anthraquinone Blue in full strength then mixed with Wax Medium, below that with Bismuth Yellow and below that with Naphthol Red. Directly to the side are the mixtures plus Titanium White.  

By the way, we are keeping our blues. 

Coast to Coast & Back!
by Kathryn Bevier

Enkaustikos has had a busy traveling schedule this Fall. We have been to Washington, Oregon, Canada, California, and lastly in our home town. We have met a lot of our dealers, held many staff training seminars and provided multiple in-store demos for customers. We also attended the IEA Encaustic Retreat and took part in the Learning Expo in Pasadena and attended the Rochester Art Supply Trade Show.  

The Learning Expo was a three day event where I held several workshops teaching the basics of painting, collage and printmaking techniques with encaustic paints.  While I was teaching, Lisa Lesczinski was educating at the booth where there was a steady stream of enthusiastic attendees. Lisa hand crafts all of the custom hot tools for Enkaustikos. 

We finished our trade show travels in our own back yard at the Rochester Art Supply Trade Show where we featured the new printing plates and created mono-prints.   

From coast to coast, it is apparent that interest in the encaustic medium continues to grow. It has been a real pleasure meeting all the many people we have had a chance to work with and get to know in our travels this Fall. We are grateful for all the opportunities and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Rochester Art Supply Trade Show 2011

by Aaron Thomas

Last weekend, Enkaustikos held demonstrations at the Rochester Art Supply trade show. We set up an encaustic printmaking station and let artists try their hand at printmaking. At the booth, we demonstrated various techniques, including stenciling, collage and image transfers. We had a great turn out and the Rochester community had fun trying out Hot Sticks and other Enkaustikos items!

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