The month of October is galloping to a close already. It’s hard to believe that 2 months from today will be Christmas day !

So much to do and so little time………………..

My show at Artspeak Gallery closed last Sunday. I was quite pleased that both the Windsor Star and Le Rempart (French language) newspapers interviewed me and wrote good reviews. The turnout at the Friday reception was awesome in spite of pouring rain. Over the course of the evening about 150 people came and went and another 100 or so dropped by the next day at my “Artist in Attendance”.

Artspeak Gallery Reception

I think the good press helped create a bit of curious buzz. To my great  delight, 19 encaustics were sold at the show. And one person came to my studio the next day looking for a large canvas for the dining room in the new home she’s building. She fell in love with this 36″ x 60″ Red Colorscape and snapped it up right away.

Red Colorscape ID #C-0906 (36" x 60" copyright 2009)

This past week has gone by in a blur. Monday and Tuesday was spent reorganizing after the show and delivering paintings to clients.

Then Wednesday morning I drove the 300 miles to Toronto for my annual pilgrimage to  the Toronto International Art Fair to overload my senses and eyeballs with world class art, see artist friends, network with dealers and just soak up the excitement.  I was also able to meet with my dealer, Leonardo Gallery in Yorkville to plan what I’ll showing for an upcoming 4-person Winter show there.

Tomorrow morning, it’s back into the studio - energized and eager to tackle new paintings.

A form of painting used in ancient Egyptian tombs has captured the imagination of Windsor artist Shirley Williams.

All of the works in Williams’ exhibit, Intimate Wax, at Artspeak Gallery, 1942 Wyandotte St. E., through Oct. 17 are composed of encaustic wax.

The combination of various waxes and varnish is heated, then allowed to cool to a hard, textured finish. The result is a durable and beautiful work of art that can be touched and even buffed clean with a cotton cloth.

The long-lasting qualities of encaustic, said Williams, are what appealed to the Egyptians when they painted tomb walls. The substance is resistant to heat and cold, and its vivid colours will never fade or peel.

Encaustic is not a new medium to Williams — she has used it for other exhibits in Windsor. But it is rarely used by artists.

“It takes hours to produce the wax,” she said. “And it can be very frustrating to use.”

Williams mixes up batches of the material in the shape of hockey pucks. During the creative process, she melts the pucks on a hot-plate, then applies it to a wood surface.

Wood must be used because the wax would crack on canvas or paper. After she applies the wax, she again heats it with a blow-torch or heat gun to create a bond between the wood and wax.

“Otherwise,” she said, “everything is lost in a puddle of muddy wax.”

Once the bonding is complete, Williams can apply more layers or carve out portions to manipuate the image.

All the material, she said, is archival and impervious to light. Her paintings in other media are on large canvases, but because encaustic starts to dry as soon as it is applied, she had to work on much smaller surfaces.

Williams has been a professional artist in Windsor since 1989, after spending several years as a documentary producer in Toronto. She has exhibited widely, from Toronto to New York and Dallas.

In 2006, Williams was commissioned to paint the cover for the Windsor Symphony Orchestra’s 2006-07 season program. The large canvas in her Colourscape series was later auctioned off at a WSO fundraiser.

In December 2010, Williams will have a solo show at the Art Gallery of Windsor.

An opening reception for Intimate Wax will be held tonight at Artspeak Gallery, beginning at 7 p.m. Williams will also be on hand at the gallery Saturday, noon-4 p.m. For more information about Williams and the exhibit, call 519-252-6855.

This past Sunday, all 45 small encaustics were hung for my current exhibition, and the Artspeak Gallery doors swung open.

"intimate Wax" Artspeak Gallery

What a devilishly complex jigsaw puzzle of a job it was to hang 45 small pieces. It took about 2 hours just to decide on the flow of which paintings should be grouped together and in what order.

And then the next challenge became hanging each individual piece so they would line up correctly but not look like a boring straight line of squares. Uneven walls and floors added to the challenge so everything needed to be measured  countless times. Thank goodness for levels and  pencil marks. Then of course lighting had to be adjusted, posters put up and all the rest of it.

Finally after 7 hours of back and forth, the job was finally done and everyone was pleased.

The following 3 pieces have already been sold. And today I met with a writer and photographer from the Windsor Star newspaper who will be doing a review of the show. Thankfully, from their enthusiastic comments, it sounds like it will be a positive review.

The Public Reception will be this Friday from 7 - 10 pm and we’ve already had over 100 RSVP’s. I’m praying the weather will co-operate so people can spill outside in comfort.

SOLD "Orange Horizon" 5" x 5" (c) 2008

SOLD "Green Colorscape" 12" x 12" (c) 2008

SOLD "Yellow Colorscape" 12" x 12" (c) 2007