Encaustic #1 landscape painting by Minnesota mixed media artist Terry Honstead

This little 5 x 5 encaustic artwork is my very first encaustic painting.  For those of you that do not know what encaustic is, it is painting with a mixture of beeswax and damar resin.  You cook the mixture until it melts and then you get the clear medium.  I also made my own colors out of dry powdered pigment.  That is just one of the ways that you can make the colored wax.  I really enjoyed making it all myself!  This is actually an ancient way of painting that is permanent enough to still have some of it around that was done over 2000 years ago.  If you are interested, look up Fayum Portraits online.  It is all quite fascinating!  Anyway, I am hoping that this is the beginning of something I will really love doing!  If you have any questions, feel free to email me at honstead@paulbunyan.net.

View From Above abstract landscape by Minnesota mixed media artist Terry Honstead

This was an abstract landscape painting ( 5 x 7 )that I finished today.  It is from a study that I did from a picture of the Grand Canyon.  It was a new technique influenced by Gustav Klimt.  It was lots of fun to do!  I may do several of these in the near future!  To see more of my work or to purchase, you can go to terry-honstead.artistwebsites.com or email me at honstead@paulbunyan.net.

Untitled Watercolor Landscape by Minnesota Mixed Media artist Terry Honstead

Why is it that when you try to photograph a light picture, especially with light blues and grays, it always comes out dull and dingy looking?  I like this painting so far, and I have a long way to go, but I am liking the way the sunrise just glows and the trees look like they were hit by the rising sun.  It is another tribute to my life and family, and is a common sight at my house!  Especially this winter.  Snow is deep here and everyone is getting tired of the cold weather.  Spring cannot come soon enough!  One more thing I should probably say about this painting is that the beige color on the snowshoes is not from painting, but is from a resist that I used to keep those areas from being painted as I did the background.  Instead of a masking fluid from and art store, I used "Tear Mender" which is a lot cheaper and actually lasts longer than the traditional ones.

"Stormy Night" Landscape by Minnesota Contemporary Mixed Media artist Terry Honstead

This 22 x 28 landscape (or seascape) painting called "Stormy Night"  was an experiment in using black as the background.  I have never painted on black before and this was fun.  A lot different than I expected!  I used a lot of iridescent and interference paints with this and it really made the colors pop on the black background!  You can find more of my work at:http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/terry-honstead.html or email me at:  honstead@paulbunyan.net.

"Fall Festival" landscape painting by Minnesota Mixed Media artist Terry Honstead

I finished it!  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  I feel that this 30 x 40 landscape painting is bright and colorful and fun which is exactly what I was going for!  I put some shading in today by the bottom of the red layer and to push the front trees closer to the front while pushing the other tress back. I also added some red to the ground and more tree branches.  If you are interested in purchasing this original or as a print, you can go to:  http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/terry-honstead.html or email me at:  honstead@paulbunyan.net.

Landscape painting by Minnesota Mixed Media artist Terry Honstead

This is not done yet, but I thought I would at least share what I have finished so far.  I started with some  papers that I made and some that I found.  I added molding paste and stamps and as much texture as I could for the under painting.  I started with the background of green trees in the distance and then the gold and orange that are closer.  I have a few flowers in the foreground that I had done earlier on rice paper.  They are done with printers ink and watercolor as well as collage.  I want to do some more detail yet and bring some of the trees  forward and push some further back.  I plan on working on it again tomorrow.  Any questions and you can email me at honstead@paulbunyan.net

Majestic Beauty

This is a 11 x 14 mixed media piece that was lots of fun to do.  I started with washes and spray painted doilies and it looked so much like branches from a distance that I went with that.  I used tissue paper that I had painted with watercolor on the bottom for a layered look.  I finished off with black acrylic paint which I used to draw the tree.  You can see more at:  http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/terry-honstead.html

"Tranquility" by Terry Honstead

Or I think it is finished anyway.  I may decide to add more to it later.  There is one area that I am not real sure about yet.  I will know after a day or two (or three or four!)  Anyway, I think I am done for the time being.  I added more large areas of green to the tree area as well as some more detail.  Also I darkened some of the areas so that the light would be going down the center of the painting with the darker areas on the sides.

Tranquility progressing by Terry Honstead

I have been working on the rocks and water and they are about finished now.  I still need to work on the greenery on the upper part of the painting.  This is taking me a long time, but I hope it will be worth it when it is finished.   This painting is on a full sheet of 300 lb. Arches watercolor paper.

Tranquility and the Super Bowl!

Well, the Super Bowl was on at our house. I just wasn’t watching it! Everyone else was, but I was painting instead. I am also reading about a diet that I plan on putting the boys on. I imagine in order to do that, we will all have to be on it! No dies or preservatives for starters! Good thing I know how to cook!

Anyway, I darkened the rocks on the left as well as putting a wash of plain water over it to run some of the colors together. I also put the rocks in on the right side, but I still have to do some darkening and smearing there after it dries. But I thought I would post another pic even though the rocks aren’t completed yet.