Encaustic Medium and an Art Opening

Artist Christopher May (my husband) is going to be part of an exhibit opening next Saturday evening at The Seen Gallery in Decatur. He has been working in encaustic (beeswax) mediums for the past few years, usually incorporating his photographs or other materials.Encaustic work often has a layered appearance, a variety of materials can be "trapped" within the many layers of wax. The end result of many of Chris' works is the smooth surface appearance which looks almost like enamel; but the artwork is actually fragile and soft. I love the smell of the melting beeswax in the house when he is working in our basement.

I have not met the other artist, Amelia Netto, but from what I have seen on her website, she combines screen-printing and embroidery in her textiles pieces. Hers and Christopher's work both have a similar visual quality because of the processes of layering and should show very nicely together.

Here a an except of a biography I wrote for Chris' book of recent artwork which can be downloaded from Lulu:

Chris' artistic experiences have culminated in a series of encaustic pieces incorporating psuedo-medical science, digital imagery, organic shapes and textures, and natural and man-made materials melted within layers of wax and color. These pieces are a unique exploration of the relationship of nature, beauty and aesthetics with technology and science.

Chris and Amelia open their show, Transitions at The Seen Gallery on Saturday, March 26 at 7pm. If you are in Atlanta that night, stop in and say hello. If you can't make it on opening night, be sure to see the work during The Seen Gallery's normal hours – the work will be on display until April 24th.

The Seen Gallery is located at 15 Church Street in Decatur.

Paris in December

Cathédrale Notre Dame

We visited Paris over Christmas break. (My first time in Europe!) It was cold and some of the security lines outside the museums took hours, but we still managed to fill the week with art-viewing. We visited Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay, Musée de l’Orangerie. Sadly, Musée National Picasso was closed. (And there is so much more to see!) We walked though all the paintings rooms and some of the sculpture at the Musée du Louvre. Here are some details of the curious creatures included in some of the paintings:

creatures of the Louvre

from inside the Pompidou Center

in queue for Musée d'Orsay

from inside the Louvre


PS. More pics from our Paris trip here.

Indian Yellow

I covered several large canvases with base colors today. Check out the yellow ones; I painted them with Indian Yellow. It is a vibrant transparent hue, more expensive than a lot of paint colors. Legend says that Indian Yellow used to be made from the urine of cows fed only on mango leaves in rural India. I learned a lot of interesting things about paint pigments (the true histories and legends) from a fascinating book, Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay.

The Artist's Gaze

We spent the beautiful day gallery hopping through Atlanta. It was our first time to two galleries: Tanner Hill Gallery and Austin Hill Art. On to other galleries, Chris Verenes‘s photographs at Marcia Wood gave me twinge of nostalgia for my early childhood in rural upstate NY in the early 1970s, before a lot of the old people died. At Alan Avery, I loved the mix of realism, expressionism, surrealism in Michele Mikesell‘s paintings. Avery instantly pegged us as artists. It’s more than how we were dressed (or not dressed) We are always looking at the art really close up. He said artists look at the work “as is you’re trying to get up into the painting.” Timothy Tew had also identified us artists before for the same reason. I have to do more people watching at galleries! Other galleries we stopped at: Mason Murer, Kiang, Matre, Jennifer Schwartz, Sandler Hudson, Atlanta Photography Group, Pryor Fine Art, Thomas Deans Fine Art. We topped the night off at the opening at The Seen Gallery in Decatur and eats at The Brick Store Pub.

Chicken Dish by Michele Mikesell

Gallery Hopping

Every month or so, Chris and I go gallery hopping on a Saturday just to stay aware of what is out there in Atlanta art-wise. Today, we hit Sandler Hudson, Jackson Fine Art, Emily Amy. And, we made first-time visits to Twin Kittens, Whitespace and Huff Harrington.

My favorite work that we saw to day was by Cara Enteles at Emily Amy Gallery. (We have really liked the space of this gallery ever since it has--it is light, airy and very friendly.) Enteles work is very beautiful, though its intention "explores predator/prey relationships within nature as well as the effects of man’s destructive actions on the natural world." Go check it out!


Cara Enteles, Bees 30" x 22.5" Watercolor and mixed media on paper

Art Clocks for Charity Auction

C-CAPP is holding its 3rd annual "It's About Time" art auction on October 26th at Ikea. Through Atlanta Gallery Association (AGA), Chris and I are participating in the event by finishing Ikea clocks! Art clocks will on display for early bidding at AGA galleries throughout Atlanta this Saturday, August 21st during AGA's CityWide Art Walk. Chris' and mine will be at The Seen Gallery in Decatur.

Video of Oil Painting Process (“Unassuming”)

Here’s my first oil painting process video. I am not sure I love the web-video-quality, but had to try it out!

Abstract Paintings Book Design

All the magazine layout design I do for Flavors has prepared me to design books also! I just designed a book of my paintings completed from 2008 to 2010 and had it printed through Lulu.

The book is mostly a way for me to visually keep track of all the paintings I have done. (Especially since I may never again see some of the paintings that have been sold.) The books make great gifts, but I can’t afford to buy one for everyone I know…so…I made the books publicly for sale through Lulu for anyone who would like to have one!

Last year during Christopher‘s show at The Seen Gallery, I designed a book of his encaustic work also.

Gallery Hopping

Chris and I went gallery hopping today. We found amazing installations at KIANG GALLERY. I don't just freely give out kudos, so you know I really liked it:

Artist of the Week

“Artist of the Week” in Art in the City!

Murmurs! Much success for the opening reception

I had a great time at the opening reception for Murmurs last night at The Seen Gallery. Many paintings sold, there were tons of people there. We even had live music. I have been preparing for last night for many months, and I am very pleased with how things went. I was surrounded by supportive friends and family and met a lot of new people. Here are just a few pictures of the gallery set up before everyone arrived:

Don’t feel bad if you could make it to the opening reception–the show will be on exhibit until August 14th.

Last-minute preparations are underfoot...

Last-minute preparations are underfoot...Chris and I delivered all the paintings to the gallery last night, and they look GREAT on the walls! And I saw Kim's new work for the first time...the sculptures are amazing and they go so well with the paintings. I think we were both using a similar color palette! It's going to be quite a show, so if you are in the Atlanta area, you definitely want to stop by and check it out.

The Seen Gallery is very easy to find – Church Street, right off East Ponce de Leon in downtown Decatur. The gallery's new layout and new wood floors really make the space feel more contemporary and spacious. Plus, there is a frozen yogurt shop next door...bonus!

Hope to see you all there Saturday at 7!

8×8 oil paintings on canvas

Here are just 3 small paintings that will be at the gallery opening next Saturday. Just to remind everyone: Murmurs opens July 24th at 7pm at The Seen Gallery in Decatur, Georgia

New Fine Artist / Designer website

Chris and I designed a new portfolio website for me this weekend. It is less “heavy” than the last one, and I like the colors better. And it had a lot (but not all) of the new paintings that will be displayed at The Seen Gallery show starting July 24th. Check it out.

New Large Oil Painting

Thanks to a friend of mine for doing a fantastic job on this picture of me in front of one of my new paintings!

This weekend...

This weekend, my husband and I documented most of the paintings that will be taken to The Seen Gallery for the July 24th show. Two of our babies joined in.

Denise Wellenstein: Abstract oil paintings in progress

for Murmurs

Works-in-Progress, abstract oil paintings

Here's a sneak peak of some works-in-progress for the show in July.

Murmurs at The Seen Gallery

Murmurs: an exhibit of abstract oil paintings by Denise Wellenstein and figurative work by Kimberly Dean

The Seen Gallery

(415 Church Street, Decatur, GA)

Opening Saturday, July 24, 2010 7-10 pm

July 24-August14