nature art

Connect the Dots

Inspiration, Portfolio, Process, Studio / By wolfpupstudio@gmail.com

(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.

“Idle Charms” Encaustic Painting by Rachel Rivas-Plata

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.

Influential Artists Part 2: Shari Replogle

Education, Inspiration, Motivation, Process / By wolfpupstudio@gmail.com

(posted 08/01/2024)

You might recall me stating one big reason I like encaustic is its versatility in the studio. I have been watching and learning from other artists since I first used the medium around 2018. Shari Replogle is an artist who taught me not to be more playful and not fear mistakes. Her web site linked here shows her talent for creating the most intriguing images from various mediums.

Shari has posted a series of videos called “Wax on Wednesdays” that are filled with beautiful, nature-inspired experiments with the medium. I especially love how many of her mixed-media art works included use of leaves and other natural materials. I found Shari’s YouTube videos to be quite addictive back in the first weeks of learning to work with encaustic. Her numerous tutorials gave me a foundation of playfulness which served me well when trying out new techniques of my own, uninhibited by expectations but with the purpose of learning. The videos are still on her YouTube page if you want to watch some yourself, linked here.

What I found most influential from Shari was the use of PanPastels with encaustic wax. To this day I consider them an essential part of most of my art works. The medium consists of powdered oil pastel which easily fuses into the encaustic wax with just a little time under the heat gun or torch. With limited time in the studio, it’s necessary to work quickly. Once I switched from pigmented wax to this alternative color option, my art work flowed much more easily from my ideas.

Here’s an older, sold piece I remember being directly influenced by one of Shari’s videos. From what I recall she had built up several layers of multicolored wax on her canvas, then carved away the top layer to reveal what was underneath. I used a picture of a chain link fence to create this pattern, and the green color on the surface was done with PanPastel. The second image is a closeup.

“Pattern Revealed” by Rachel Rivas-Plata, 8×8 in., 2020

Holly Days 2023 at The West Woods

Events, Gallery, Midjourney Images, Photographs, Portfolio, Suncaustics / By wolfpupstudio@gmail.com

(posted 11/15/2023)

On November 3rd & 4th, I was busy selling my art and jewelry during the Holly Days Artisan Boutique held at the West Woods in Geauga County, Ohio. I have done a couple markets per year since 2021, and this was another success!

The event ran a few hours on Friday evening and most of Saturday. This was the first time I used my new gallery wall (a white folding pegboard) which held many of my original pieces on cradled wood canvas. The table was then freed up to hold a few more larger works, some jewelry, and a white lighted tree decorated with ornaments.

All around me the other vendors had beautiful displays of some art and lots of Christmas themed decor and candy. It was great to get the holiday season rolling so soon after Halloween. My husband was kind enough to come along and help me unload, set up, and make small talk with everyone. He even picked me up a delicious burger from Manna Food Truck at the end of the night. He’s a trooper and I’m always so thankful for his help!

I debuted all thirty-one birds of the Birdtober 2023 project at the event and sold twelve of them. I even got some orders for more ornaments including a bluebird, two herons, and a monarch butterfly. Since I was asked to create these birds, I decided to list them on Etsy – currently there you can find the bluebird, the blue heron, and the hummingbird in the Ornaments section of the shop. They are made to order so if you want them for gifts, get your orders in soon!

I ran another art giveaway at this event. Two of those who signed up for my email updates got the chance to win their choice of Birdtober ornaments. One winner chose the common tailorbird, and the other chose the goldfinch. I sent those out this week. If you’re interested in getting my studio update emails (about one per month), click here to sign up. If you change your mind, it’s easy to unsubscribe.

Art that Sold

The art pieces that sold at Holly Days were quite varied in subject and process. Following is the bulk of them with a comment on each one – they are in no particular order.

“Woodland Raccoon,” 8×8 in. wood canvas. This is the 2nd or 3rd version I’ve done. People fall in love with the face of this masked creature.

“Generations,” 10×10 in. wood canvas. I like this one so much I want to do more versions of it in the future. Ever since I read about “Hibaku,” the ginkgo has been a favorite tree of mine. Click here to read more about Hibaku.

“Hinterland No. 7,” 8×8 in. wood canvas. This is not a picture of the exact one that sold, but it is another one of which I’ve made multiple versions. I like to place the fox in different settings and keep it somewhat transparent and ghostlike.

“Lilies of the Valley III,” 8×8 in. wood canvas. This is a piece done with Midjourney AI. After covering it with wax, I embellished it with some oil pastel. I did a similar one which is quite popular on Etsy.

“Orphic Landscape I,” 10 in. round wood canvas. This was an encaustic painting I did using a Midjourney AI image as a reference. A lot of AI looks surreal and I think that aesthetic comes through clearly in this one.

“Summer’s Edge,” 8×10 framed. This one was hard to let go. It ended up selling before the show even opened! I absolutely love making suncaustic works and plan to do many more – they always seem to bring out the best of my creativity.

“Moreland Meadow No. 8,” 9×12 in. wood canvas. This landscape always made me think of Ireland since it somewhat mimics the colors of the flag. It’s got some gold and it’s just about to reveal a rainbow. Moreland Meadow was a favorite place of mine that was captured in a few photos in 2020.

These last three on 6 in. round wood canvas were part of a Female Bird Series I did last year. I painted them with watercolor, then covered them with encaustic medium.

As always, I’m very happy when people stop by and look and ask about my work. I’m so grateful to those of you who liked my work enough to take it home. If you ever see a piece you’d like me to recreate, or have a request for something new, please reach out to me via email: rachel@wolfpupstudio.com

AI Meets Encaustic, Part III

Inspiration, Midjourney Images, Process, Uncategorized / By wolfpupstudio@gmail.com

(posted 05/14/2023)

If you have followed me at all lately, you can tell I am having a lot of fun working with the AI system called Midjourney. I’ve “conjured” well over 200 images using it. I’ve had it create patterns, botanicals, landscapes, round images, abstract art, portraits, and the list goes on. Quantity over quality is definitely where I’m at in the process. I have experimented enough to find a niche of a certain style that feels right, for now.

Painting with words is how I can best describe the process. You type in descriptive words on your own or copy those of the art pieces you like – they are constantly being produced by other subscribers out of the general system. Most of what I see on Midjourney when I scroll through other artists’ work has a futuristic/science fiction look similar to the first one below, but I do my best to avoid those results because my goal is to be unique of course. Overall, Midjourney is to an artist a brilliant way to quickly draft an image of a piece one is thinking of, but can be frustrating when the words aren’t interpreted the same way by AI.

Midjourney Images

What makes AI fun, but like a roller coaster, is the rapid pace at which I can create images. But, to make art that truly represents my purpose and aesthetic has taken me a very long time and quite a few errors. I’m excited to continue to share what I’ve conjured using AI. The work I’ve done lately has a strong visual presence. I don’t like these enough to use them in my encaustic, but they’re quite appealing and show yet another avenue of my individual creativity.

Nature Arts Festival at Big Creek Park

Events / By wolfpupstudio@gmail.com

(posted 08/14/2021)

Last weekend, I had a wonderful time showing my art and jewelry at the Nature Arts Festival at Big Creek Park in Chardon, Ohio. Thankfully, my art was accepted into the juried event, which gathered many, many artists from NE Ohio and beyond. I had requested an indoor table and ended up sharing one large room with a jewelry artist, Anne Nelson, who does some incredible things with metal. I also met another encaustic artist, Stacy Cook, and I very much enjoyed seeing her work and hearing about her process. I had a great conversation with another jewelry artist, Cynde Hujarski, who has a really unique style. Many thanks to my husband, Raul, who is becoming quite the art show professional! Once the event began at 10 am, I was pretty much tied to my table. I was hoping I would get more time to venture outdoors to see the other artists – I’ll have to make it a point to do that next time. I did have a chance to see the work in Carlene Holtz’s tent outdoors. She had some really beautiful floral art done on glassware. She is also the owner of MC Art Studio on the corner of Bell and 306 in South Russell/Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Full disclosure: I have some pieces in the gallery there, and it’s a very charming space, so check it out!

Inside, we had a steady stream of visitors, some purchasers, some browsers, and some friends and family. It was very nice to be able to inform people on what encaustic is and the versatility that it brings to my artmaking. Being indoors was definitely a good decision on my part, because it was terribly muggy outside and I believe it rained for a bit as well.

As always, it was so nice that my friends and family came to see me – I appreciate it so much! And it was very nice to meet some fellow artists as well as local patrons who enjoy nature-inspired art. The beauty of our parks is irreplaceable and I love that people are so passionate about spending time outdoors and observing nature. I can literally get dozens of ideas from a few pictures that I take on a hike through the park. Here are some photos of my display, before and after, along with photos of some of the items that sold.

The best part of selling my work is that allows me to share a portion of my profits with NAMI of Geauga County. I gladly made the donation today. I’m looking forward to my next local show … I hope to see you there!

Art that Sold

Midjourney Images

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