Connect the Dots
(posted 08/17/2025)
I can’t say I like all of Pablo Picasso’s work (and there is lot of it), but I have always loved his “line drawings,” which you can see on this linked web site dedicated to the artist. To be able to represent a person or animal so simplistically is quite a feat. I set out wanting to create some flowers in that same style, but taking it a step further by carving the drawing in beeswax.
There are many ways to transfer an image to an encaustic surface, but I have a unique “connect the dots” process I like to use. First, I made a sketch of the flowers, then I made a more detailed line drawing of it on paper cut to the basic size of my canvas. The blank wood canvas had already been layered with dark then white pigmented encaustic medium, so the next step was to tape down the drawing on top of it. I heated the surface just a tad then began poking holes with the needle tool along the lines through the paper, right into the warmed wax surface as shown in this video.
Once that was finished, the canvas looked like a connect the dots page from a kid’s coloring book. (There’s nothing better than feeling like a kid again in my studio ha ha!) I set to work connecting those dots by carving deeper lines into the wax surface with the help of a flame. Those deep lines revealed the dark pigment underneath the white wax.
A very interesting effect I hadn’t expected was the dots merging with the carved lines and creating a unique textured pattern once I added more heat. I wanted to accentuate that texture as much as possible, so I applied black powder pastel then removed a lot of it with some mineral oil.
I like the dramatic results of leaving some of the black smudges and smears. This also depicts a contrast to the floral outlines, and it shows off the distinction of encaustic medium as compared to flat paintings and illustrations.
The title of the piece is “Idle Charms.” That came from my idea of taking colorful flowers from nature and abstracting them to just a few jagged lines. The 12×12 inch canvas has been framed and is available on Etsy linked here as of the date of this post.