The Art Blog

Oh my gosh...I am so excited! I'm so giddy that I can hardly get a decent night's rest these days. And just in case you're wondering what's causing my insomnia and has me up all night... here's the skinny... For several months now, my studio team and I have been working fiercely on the creation of a very special online encaustic course  for you and now we are closing in on the launch date. Oh my...I can hardly believe it!  Learn to Burn Encaustic Painting  with  Alicia Tormey  ...is almost here! I'm spilling all my secrets and I just can't wait to share them with you. I will be making lots of milestone announcements as we near our actual release date! The online course will be available very soon (early October if all goes well).  If you don't want to miss the launch party be sure to sign up for email notifications here: Get the scoop: Alicia Tormey's Newsletter Sign-up Shellac Attack... This is a ve...

I'd like to invite you to come on an adventure with me. There’s no need to worry about packing, airports or lost luggage because I’m talking about virtual travel; a form of mental globe trotting. I’ve been traveling like this for months now... hiking up mountains to view distant valleys, wading through tide pools that stretch out beyond the horizon and exploring lush exotic gardens filled with rare botanicals. This is all my conception, of course, but when I’m depicting this place through my artwork, it becomes very real to me. So real that I can sense the mist on my skin, feel the mossy ground under my feet and smell the intoxicating perfumes of it’s strange and wild flora. An exhibition of my latest work, revealing this inner universe, will be on display next month at Hall Spassov Gallery . I invite you to bring your imagination and join me for the debut of Terra: New Encaustic Works.  Opening reception: Friday, Oct. 7th from 5pm to 9pm. Hall Spassov G...

Show title wall featuring Soloist Pacini Lubel Gallery street view Me posing with Sapphire Cove Today I am feeling richly rewarded after several months of hard work. The opening of Second Nature was lovely and I want to say "T hank you!" to all the dear friends who came out on Thursday night to support me. I also want to extend a special thanks to those who traveled long distances to see the show and to those of you who have left me such kind comments here on my blog. Gallery southeast view Me posing with the gems. Many of the little gems have already sold and there is a possible commission in the works. The Seattle Times also ran a blurb about the exhibition and featured an image of my work in the Arts section of the paper. So here I am feeling grateful, content and inspired. The studio beckons and I need to start preparing for my 2010 exhibitions. I will be participating in several group shows starting next spring and I have a solo show slated for J...

River Trio- encaustic w/mixed media 2009 - 36" x 36" Tourmaline- encaustic w/mixed media 2009 - 24" x 72" Well… it's finally here – Opening Night! Please join me at the Pacini Lubel Gallery for the opening of Second Nature. Tonight, Thursday, November 5th from 6 to 8 as part of the Seattle 1st Thursday gallery walk . This solo show features my most recent encaustic work. I have not seen the final installation so I will be experiencing the show for the first time tonight. Here’s what friend and fellow artist, Barbara Dunshee , posted to her blog about my work: “I've recently been reintroduced to Alicia Tormey's work. I loved it before and her recent evolution is very exciting. Her new show, opening at Pacini Lubel Gallery November 5th, is called "Second Nature". A great title as her encaustics on wood are nature enhanced to a higher power. Her abstractions are landscape reminiscent but on varying planes of existence, simultaneously ma...

Labradorite - encaustic w/mixed media 2009   Corundum - encaustic/w mixed media 2009 I am featuring two gems today: Corundum & Labradorite. Both stones reflect multiple colors. I think these two are good companion pieces as well. I am feeling the desire to paint today but it's not likely going to happen. I have too much going on with the opening on Thursday and guests arriving from out of town. I really feel it when I am away from the studio. Time spent creating helps keep me centered and I look forward to firing things up again after this crazy busy week. Tomorrow’s gem: Opal

Andalusite - encaustic w/mixed media 2009 This gem series piece is titled Andalusite, after the mineral known for its variations of green. I wanted to create a sense of intimacy in this by framing the view with delicate wisps of grass that I scratched into the surface. There are only a few days remaining now until the show opens this Thursday. It will be the first time all the work is displayed together instead of piled around my studio in various stages of completion. I will post two more gems tomorrow: Corundum and Labradorite

Serpentine - encausticx w/ mixed media 2009 This gem is titled Serpentine. The colors in this piece are reminiscent of the stone but I thought the plant form also suited this title. Yesterday I delivered the rest of the artwork to the gallery and the show will be installed on Tuesday. I am eager to see how it will all come together in the space. I will post lots of photos of the final installation in the coming weeks. Tomorrows gem: Andalusite

Botanica I - encaustic w / mixed media  2009 This is one of seven botanical works that will be featured in the Second Nature show along with the gems and landscapes. Below you can see how the paintings play off of each other. I imagine these as if you were to enter one of my larger landscapes and return with clippings and specimens for further study. Hard to believe the show opens in just 5 more days. I am looking forward to seeing dear friends and meeting new ones. Tomorrow I will post another gem: Serpentine Botanical Specimens I, II & III as a grouping Click on the art to view full images.

Amber - encaustic w/mixed media 2009 I chose to feature Amber as today’s gem. Below is a detail so you can see the under currents of this painting. There are many subtle layers to this piece that are not coming through in the photo. This painting easily jumps back and forth between the abstract and representational imagery. I will post new work from the botanical series tomorrow. Detail from Amber

Jasper - encaustic w/mixed media 2009 Today’s gem piece is titled Jasper and in doing my gem research I learned that jasper and agate are the same stone. This has the tones and translucency of an agate and someone told me they see a figure skating or running in it. I was hoping for an abstracted tree form and I love the playfulness of this piece. I’ll keep tomorrow’s posting a surprise – not sure if it will be a gem or a botanical or perhaps both.

Sapphire - encaustic w/ mixed media 2009 Today’s gem is Sapphire and the colors in this piece are very intense. The blue veining that runs through it has the appearance of colored glass. I find the vibrancy of this color pallet very energizing. Tomorrow’s gem: Jasper

Fire Opal – encaustic w/mixed media 2009 Fire opal is the featured painting today and the warm colors are speaking to me on this blustery Monday. This piece has a simple composition and much less going on in it than most of the other gems in the series. The simplicity creates a nice visual balance when paired with the other paintings. This week I deliver the remaining works to the gallery and the show will be hung early next week. Tomorrow’s gem: Black Coral

Emerald Pond – right panel detail from triptych - 24 x 72 - encaustic w/mixed media 2009 This is a detail from Emerald Pond, one of the four large triptychs that I created for my Second Nature show. See the full image below . Creating this piece was a unique challenge for me as I struggled to find the border between abstract and representational imagery. The chaos of it all is what brings this painting closer to nature rather than the subject matter. Looking at the painting as a thumbnail it seems quite literal but as you move in you can see the flow of the materials, the lines scratched in wax and the wild paint splatters. This is one of those paintings that inspire me to drop everything and walk into the scene. I am looking forward to experimenting with more work like this in the coming months. Tomorrows gem: Fire Opal. Emerald Pond – triptych - 24" x 72" - encaustic w/mixed media 2009

Diopside - encaustic w/mixed media 2009 The gem stone diopside is known for its bottle green color. The organic forms on the left of this painting look like green glass so diopside seemed like the perfect title for this piece. The show images are now posted to the Pacini Lubel Gallery website so you can view the entire show online. I am thrilled to report that several pieces have already sold. Tomorrow I will post some images from one of the larger works in the show.

Botanica III - encaustic w/mixed media 2009 Making a departure from the gem series today, I am posting this image from my botanical series. These will also be featured in the November show along with the gems and abstracted landscapes. And like the other work, I created these plant forms as a group of companion pieces. They are my contemporary interpretation of vintage botanical prints. The plant forms themselves are purely fictional and I imagined them as pressings and renderings from the archives of an 18th century botanist. Image: Hero - Barbara Dunshee - Ceramic 2009 Today I also wanted to direct you over to the blog of ceramic artist, Barbara Dunshee . She has written up an amazing and lyrical blog post about my new work. While you’re there check out her enchanting ceramic work. I especially love her haunting face sculptures and whimsical vessels. I have been lusting after this sculpture titled ,Hero, for months now. Barbara is the ceramic artist who so graciousl...

Lapis - encaustic w/mixed media 2009 Today’s gem is Lapis. This color pallet is more intense than I typically use. The original is quite vibrant and this whole series has sparked several new directions and techniques for me. If I were not so preoccupied with all the preshow prep I would race back into the studio right now to keep pushing these and see where they take me. I have another solo exhibition in Sun Valley slated for July 2010 so I will be starting new work next month in preparation. For now it’s time for me to step back and examine this new series and take in the visual dialogue. Tomorrows gem: Jade Tree

Onyx - encaustic w/mixed media - 2009 The countdown continues with this piece titled, Onyx. As I was working on this gem series I was seeing each smaller painting as part of a larger whole. The same way you might examine an individual bead of precious stone before combining it with others to create something new. Once the work is hung for the show I will post some installation photos so you can see how they work together. Still framing up the artwork all this week and will post a new image tomorrow!

Geode 2009 - Alicia Tormey - Encaustic w/mixed media . 8" x 8" This is one of the small gem series paintings titled Geode . These little “gems” are evolving into some really unique work. So far I have created twenty of these small panels for my November show and I want to keep expanding on this series in the future. The larger panels for the show are starting to fall into place now and all the work together as a group takes on a whole new life of its own. This show will be somewhat of a departure for me with works ranging in size from 8" up to 6ft and a wide range of hard candy colors. I still have some final push days to put in at the studio before this body of work is complete. For the first time in a long while I feel a sense of evolution in the work itself and it makes me feel very inspired and filled with anticipation of discoveries yet to unfold. More to share so stay tuned...