house, home and good neighbors-

Friends & Neighbors

6" x 6"

Good & Plenty

6" x 6"

Turned on the pots today and worked in wax.  Felt pretty summery outside but that's about to change.  Darker earlier, temperatures dropping and something big going down tomorrow.  Thinking about house, home, friends, loved ones and the state of the nation.  

xx-

b

Lucky Day-

Lucky Day

14" x 20"

A little color, a few bunnies and some lucky numbers.

Wishing you a weekend of good fortune.

xx-

b

returning to wax-

::new encaustic mixed media work::

So I've been framing all week and every flat surface in my house is covered with work.  Yesterday I started to feel overwhelmed by the amount of work left to do so I did what any red blooded procrastinator would do and I started something new.  I already had some small blocks gessoed and so I turned on my skillet, picked out some bits of print from the pile, and created these small pieces.  Going back to hot wax and old imagery was like visiting a good friend and it was just what I needed.  These pieces (and quite a few from my Etsy shop) are going to The Ann Arbor Art Center for the "Art Off The Wall' show. I'm delivering them tomorrow so if you are interested in any of these paintings (or something you saw on Etsy) let me know and I will set it aside.  Now I need to get back to attaching dust covers and hanging hardware....right after I start a new micro art series :-)

Micro Art Series 1

tiny art!

An answer to all of the large paintings in progress crowding my studio space was to go tiny. Super tiny. Like 1.5"x 2" tiny.  I had squirreled away scraps of wood left after cutting the talking blocks with the thought that I would create a series of tiny landscapes.  But after working on large abstract pieces for the past couple of months and filling large spaces with color and shape I decided that I wanted to do the same on a smaller micro scale.  I started this set a few weeks ago and every couple of days I layered on more color and detail.  It was very freeing to have less space to work with and I already have a color pallet picked out for Series 2.  Sadly it will have to wait as the next few days are set aside for framing.  I have LOTS of new work which is just about ready to share.  Some pieces will be going to The Ann Arbor Art Center for Art Off The Wall and some pieces will go into my Etsy shop the 1st week of November.  Well, maybe I can just lay down a 1st layer of color...

happy day-

b

new cold wax work-

The Very Thought Of You

cold wax, oil, mixed media

24" x 24"

Counting On It

cold wax, oil, encaustic

14" x 14"

Two new pieces in a new (and very messy) medium.  'The Very Thought Of You' has been in the works for months and it was created with cold wax and oil paint and .a few bits of newsprint. 'Counting On It' is a reworking of a painting from late summer. that I finished this afternoon.  It was created with cold wax, oil paint and oil pastels. I was in the studio most of this rainy day and it felt so good...but now I'm worn out and ready to call it an early night.  Just want to say a quick hello and share :)

sweet dreams-

b

from sea to shining sea...

from sea to shining sea

6"x6"

Hey you...how are you?  Another long pause here on the blog but I've been posting regularly to instagram (@bethbillups).  Pop X came and went and my installation was everything I wanted it to be but I'll save that for another post.  One with lots of photos and some thoughts on the whole process.  This piece has been hanging around the studio for quite some time but it never felt quite finished....not sure why but it just needed something, turns out it was more wax :)  I painted the image using layers of cold wax and oil paint which I then carved into the surface and set it aside to dry for a few weeks  months.  This morning I applied  three layers of clear encaustic medium and voila...it's done.  I have so many cold wax paintings in the works right now and I'm really enjoying the process of playing and learning to slow down and let pieces evolve over days, weeks and months.  Here's hoping you are finding time to create and savoring moments of quiet amid the chaos.

xx-

b

The rabbit hole...

talking blocks

wild hare (indigo)

 no.1&no.2

This is by far the longest I've been away from this blog.  I fell down a rabbit hole of endless words, wood and wax.  Throw in two college visits, a quick trip to see old friends and a family vacation and there you have it...total immersion in the be here now thing.  I have just over 500 word blocks complete and I need to start on the picture blocks.  Pop X 2016 opens September 22 and the installation date is just over a week away.  I'm not really stressed but I am working non-stop to get things ready.  But...every now and then I need a little creative diversion.  I worked late and woke up early to finish up this pair of wild hares.  Nothing like a little bunny love to set the refresh button.  I have all the basic words covered and more but I'm interested in knowing if you had to pick three words to tell your story what they be?!?  Mine would have to be 'back to work'.