Wednesday, July 13, 2011

It Was a Party! The Sparkles Still Linger

Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza Well, that ole Philostrate, ahem, I mean Mr. Artyfice the Party Planner and his nifty assistant "Nemo" aka, "The Bug," the Shakespearean Einstein graduate guy, went all out pulling off a kid's party for an oldster. Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza Wow. My best buds from around town came by to share in the fun. There was wand waving, funny glasses wearing, water pistol shootin', party hat stylin' silliness...AND...wait for it... An encaustic play session. Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza Whoo-hoo! Sparkles still linger on the walls--May last for weeks. I've had an encaustic kit just waiting for some artist friends to get things started. Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza This is the result. You may recognize this image from Sabino Hill on a Snowy Day. It's the painting that made it into the Arizona Biennial '09 . This encaustic piece is on a 5" x 7," encausticbord. Are you painting, enjoying the summer, looking forward to cool weather and more painting? What a week...Hoping all is well with all of you.

14 comments:

Bridget Hunter said...

What a great party. Love the dog!!!

Barbara Muir said...

Well good for Mr. Artyfice! That looks like a lot of fun. Happy occasion? What does one say? I say Happy Birthday, Happy Art, Happy New Year.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxBarbara

Super art.

cohen labelle said...

Oh Melinda - an encaustic party - how fabulous!!
And that dog! Isn't he a cool cat wearing those shades and a party hat! What a great way to celebrate - your Edgar knows something!
Love the painting too!
xoMarcia

Melinda said...

Welcome Bridget! Thank you so much. It really was a great party, made special by having artists here to play with the new toys. They suggested this image, which made it a lot easier for me to work with the crazy, luscious, wonderful beeswax and heat gun.

Hope you'll stop in again. I enjoyed seeing your work on your blog. Very nice painting!

Best wishes and stop in again, eh?

p. s. Loki the shepherd was very accommodating...and then tried to chew on the glasses. :-)

Melinda said...

Yes, dear Barbara, you are correct! It was a happy b'day (not typical for me to be ecstatic about or to celebrate, I must say.)

There were so many 'best parts', but playing with the art supplies with our artist friends was a huge gift---and it broke through my block of shyness with the materials. Encaustic seems a bit more approachable now.

Thank you very much for your kind wishes and always generous comments.

Virtual hugs to you!

Melinda said...

Hello, dear Marcia!

Yes, Edgar has better skills than I for event planning and party decorating. I think he had some fun pulling this surprise party together.

The dogs loved having people around too!

It really was cool to have guests join in the discovery of this new-to-us medium--totally fun.

Wish you could have been here...

Thank you.

Virtual hugs to you!

Donald Diddams said...

Happy Birthday, Melinda! What fun! I love that picture of the waxes warming on the griddle... kind of like a finger painting party when we were kids. Encaustics always look sort of mysterious and deep to me, with a fascinating surface texture. Your first try is a beaut!!

kathrynlaw said...

What?? I missed your birthday?? Aw, maaaannnnn!! Well, happy belated birthday! Sure looks like you had a great one. I absolutely love the Sabino Hill in encaustic. xoxo

Edgar said...

Loki has art stars in his eyes... and I think I see the other dog's chin in the picture. They must have been adorable to work with for the photo shoot.

REALLY loving the wax work. Texture and depth. I just knew you had encaustic in your veins.

Melinda said...

Ha! Thank you, Donald! Yes, it was a party for artist kids and we did have fun. Of course, the griddle was too hot to finger paint, but whoa was it a hoot.

Wish you coulda' been here!

Melinda said...

Hello, dear Kathryn! How I wish you could have been here too. Thank you for the well wishes.

It was a blast. I'm glad you like the encaustic version. I can't wait to do some more playing.

I'm really loving your work lately. You're on a roll, yes?

Virtual hugs to you.

Melinda said...

Ha, ha, Edgar. Yes, I have 'caustic in my veins...Thanks.
Now, everyone knows it too.

:-}

p. s. I did a really sloppy job of photoshopping Loki's image, but I did try to bump up the contrast around Diego. I even used the 'magic wand' on his little, tiny teeth! Oh, well, must leave these things to the professionals.

Linny D. Vine said...

Thank-you for sharing your happy day and partay, Magical Melinda. And a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you - happiness and happy creating and happy playing and...whatever makes your heart sing!!

Melinda said...

You are very kind, Linny. Thank you for your good wishes. Wish you could have been here.

I aspire for my heart to sing as beautifully as yours...!