Sue Fazio's Artwork

2011-10-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

a looser approach to the landscape...acrylic..16"x20"

2011-10-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

18"x24" acrylic...on the way to boone...

2011-10-22T10:40:00.001-07:00

2011-10-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

this is the road from marti's house in boone nc...24"x30" oil

2011-10-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

just a path to somewhere....24"x30" oil...the mountains are really not aqua...more cobalt blue...gotta pay more attention to my photography 'skills'

2011-10-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

this is delicious...glazes of acrylics...24:x36"...a stream on one of my hikes in these mountains...I love running water...facts+fiction+feelings=visual metaphor (robert burridge quote that I love)

2011-10-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

another of those 16"x20"acrylic plein aire...zacchary tolberts'

2011-10-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Zacchary Tolberts historical home in cashiers nc did some demos in acrylic plein aire...16X20...acrylic

2011-10-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

Laurel Park vista...16"x20" oil

2011-10-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

24"x48" oil...vibrant water...added manganese to cobalt blue! wow! at end of cul de sac towards highlands nc

2011-10-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

so we were walking through the woods...and voila! someone was there before us...and even in the woods doing laundry...can't we get away from laundry? 36"x36" acrylic

2011-10-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

a detail...lot's of glazing!

2011-10-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

up on black balsom...wow! 24"x48" acrylic

2011-10-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Black Balsom...off the blue ridge parkway...how heavenly---literally...24"x48"

2011-10-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

:Pink skies...another 24"x48" acrylic of the french broad...this is an interesting, dynamic size to work with..so I did 5...of course

2011-10-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

another in the 24"x48" series..all in acrylic..all lovely texture...french broad river..this painting actually factually is much more colorful

2011-10-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

the three sisters...I used to have a baby raccoon when I was a little girl...when she grew up---well, let's just say you cant keep a big raccoon in the house! 24"x24" oil

2011-10-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

another encaustic...on the way on state route 64 to Hendersonville...16"x20"

2011-10-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

encaustic is a magical medium...this one is of a field in Mills River/NC..24"x24"

2011-10-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

my favorite place in the whole world! Lake Toxaway River Walk...I've painted a zillion paintings..and probably a zillion more to come! this one is really square 36"x36"oils

2011-10-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

36"x36" oil...french broad river....state road 64 on the way to Lake Toxaway..rather a pitiful photo..the water is much deeper blue

2011-10-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

24"x48"...acrylic...rumbling falls..a lot of texture!

2011-10-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

red fields...18"x24"...bad photo...very vibrant

2011-10-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

ninth in the series...all together--thirty six feet!!!

2011-10-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

EIGHT...ALWAYS EIGHT

2011-10-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

seven...seven...seven

2011-10-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

SIX!!!!

2011-10-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

number FIVE

2011-10-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

I need a glass of wine...this is the fourth on in the series

2011-10-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

so this is #3 in series....

2011-10-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

the second in the series 'irene'

2011-10-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

the second in the series 'irene'

2011-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

so this is the beginning of a series of 4'x5' paintings that I have done from my inspiration of hurricane irene...there are nine in this series...I usually paint in warm colors but because of the water/wind/interatction between the water and the land I began in cool colors....

NEW! My Studio in Jupiter, FL April 2011

2011-06-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

Sue Fazio's World of Wax - The Introduction

2011-05-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here's my first video! I hope you enjoy!

2011-05-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

reaching out...1'x1'

2011-05-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

geese from norway...just thought I'd let you know sometimes I escape my own obsession

2011-05-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

If you could touch this it feels just like you think it would feel...I am playing with making a still life HAVE SOME LIFE for goodness sakes!!!this one is 1'x1'...my preferred size for just working things out...when they excite me then I do larger paintings of the subject

2011-05-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

so I was looking at youtube and came upon someone who was demoing shellac burns with encaustic wax...sooo of course I ran to the hardware store and bought some shellac and came home and experimented...now I am telling you this is a dangerous experiment BUT so worth it!! I did LOTS of them..threw AWAY lots of them...learned a lot..is now in my arsenal of how to get out of a dulldrum with my paintings

2011-05-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

I am only going to post one of these...but I did a series of 15 of these building-type shapes..primarily because I was tired of doing organic flower stuff so decided I needed texture...and hard edge...my REAL life is like this...I can't keep doing the same thing for too long

2011-05-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

so in between doing this flower series...I decide to go back and do a cow...still in encaustics..still 1'x1'...but the texture..drives me crazy!!!

2011-05-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

NOW THIS WAS ONE OF THE STILL LIFES I ENTERED INTO THE SHOW AT BASCOM...she is 3'x3'...I was just trying to come up with something interesting..and meaningful...like what is truly meaningful about tomatoes? so you figure out what I am saying in the tiles on the sides

2011-05-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

never think I am not all about the wax...look at the texture in the background of this...don't you wish you could touch it?

2011-05-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

so I did those two red paintings and thought I'd follow up with two blue ones..these are 24"x24"...great fun

2011-05-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

So I painted this as a companion piece to the last one 30"x30"..still this smooth encaustic medium...but this one sold...so does that mean I have to get another 'companion' for the first?

2011-05-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

So this is a larger attempt and in so...more challenging...she is 30"x 30"...I am just using flowers as an excuse to create positive and negative relationships...and which is more compelling? a lot like life..heh????

2011-05-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

so I thought if I just painted red and then made

it a flower AFTER the initial colors..well, you can do that with wax...because it is so many layers...and just heat...but you still have to take advantage of the shapes that are NOT red..I think this has an interesting pull to it

2011-05-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

I was trying to bring your eye to the center...which may be what all the meditation is about...the rhythm of life..always moving towards the center

2011-05-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hey! see the bloppy purple...to contrast this with the green...see? I really AM thinking about all of this stuff. I get mesmerized by what the wax/heat can do

2011-05-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

so a read rose...and the most thrilling thing about this painting is the aqua

2011-05-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

I love the vibrancy of this painting!

2011-05-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

so the simplicity of this painting is really to give you a sense of calm...which I do not have much of...I used to meditate a significant amount...went to week long retreats and just sat...listening (mostly to my thoughts...) and it was not until I just gave up because it was so darn frustrating did I get any relief at all...I just begged God to tell me what to do...what was my purpose...how can I help...I went on a vision quest...sat by myself in the desert just drinking water and praying for a 'vision'...seven days (well, only 4 of them was I fasting...) but a COMMITMENT for sure...I had many visions...but when I came home I was still just SuejFazio--mother of six children---wife to the great golf course architect Tom Fazio---and a wild working woman---always busy...too busy to save the world..or myself...well, I only say this all to give you an idea of my 'journey'..well, now I paint...and don't meditate at all and I am so peaceful and calm and I think quite helpful to adding to the joy of the world..and this painting just sorta nails that feeling!

2011-05-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

I love little bluettes...you find them in the woods just randomly picking up their cute little noses and looking at you walking by...I've tried planting them but with no long term luck...I think they just like to surprize you

2011-05-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Calypso Green..that is the primary green color in this painting...I just discovered it and am smitten...you'll be seeing alot of this in my waxworks

2011-05-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

WAx...glorious wax...glorious cone flowers..great shapes/colors..they dance

2011-05-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

In Florida where I have painted this series I am surrounded by hibiscus so when I get tired of looking for flowers in my book I just look up and voila! they're all around me!!!

2011-05-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

The best thing about wax is that it just organically creates itself...meaning...I don't really have much control when I turn the blow torch on..I like soft edges as you can see here...

2011-05-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

I like the abstract quality of this painting...up close it is interesting but looking at it on this blog...well it is kinda pukey colors

2011-05-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful teacher Charles Gruppe...he taught oils/acrylics and really loosened me up with his fly by the seat of your pants approach...I went to Europe several times with the 'group'...Portugal, Spain, France, Italy..and Greece...it was all fun being with a bunch of artists breakfast/lunch/dinner...we'd be dropped off in some random little town in these foreign countries and just set up shop...with some pretty ridiculous results...these people who we didn't understand would come stand behind us and add comments..it was hard to stay focused...well, the reason I mentioned Charles was because he never used yellow...he said it 'scared' him...I have found that little piece of advice true...I struggle making yellow a meaningful color...I don't know why

2011-05-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

You know...I never get tired of painting..and that is the truth...I think that is because I am in control and not...responding and then taking 'control'..so I start with an 'idea' and really paint that idea...and then the painting takes over...I get so excited at that stage and if I can stay quiet and jus really listen...well, that is when something can happen

2011-05-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

so can't you feel what I was trying to do with this flower? I call it 'reachin to the stars'

2011-05-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

More tulips..we're gathered together to ask the Lord's blessings...

2011-05-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

soo tulips...now I dont plant tulips for one reason and one reason only...they only bloom for a short period and then you have to put up tith their stalk the rest of the growing season...but I do love them when other people plant them..but then this really is all about painting shapes and colors and using adecent composition to keep the viewer interested

2011-05-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

I USED TO NEVER PLANT BLUE FLOWERS AND NOW IT IS ALL THAT I LOOK FOR AT THE NURSERY...there are really a lot once you commit

2011-05-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

I always plant morning glories and have a special affection for them as I always planted them when I was a child on a farm in Ohio...they just need to be soaked and nicked and planted and then wait and wait and magic! Here in North Carolina it is sometimes tricky...mostly because I have a landscape person who wacks down everything that looks like a weed and these definitely look like weedy vines until the flowers take hold...

2011-05-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that my dear friend Max took all of these photos..with the help of my son Austin...I simply have no patience or follow through...even putting this on a blog is a tedious proces which takes lots of time...and WINE!!!

2011-05-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

You can begin to see that I really am working on a patchwork...of my emotions...I get bored quickly so flowers are the perfect venue for me to do a big series...

2011-05-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

guess what flower this is???(clue...it's not a flower...it is a painting...gotcha!

2011-05-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

So now I need to try white...it is more difficult to get drama so I attempt to do so with the shapes...I used gold and it really livened it up!

2011-05-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

a pink hibiscus was the inspiration for this...I am in Florida painting outside on my patio because you really need ventilation when doing encaustics...the perk is I get to watch boats go by while I paint.

2011-05-03T18:34:00.000-07:00

So I decided I needed some yellow flowers and I honestly have a flower book and I just flipped through it until I came upon a flower that I liked...then I closed in and made interesting shapes so the painting can be viewed as an abstract...these are all very smooth and just crave to be touched!

2011-05-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

Poppies are my favorite!! (not really...they are all my favorite) but when I was working on this series it seemed that all my first 7 flowers that i chose to paint were RED! These are all 1'x1' painted on encausticboard/cradled board--2" deep.

2011-05-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning...a fern..have you seen how they are all curled up and mysterious...and then they open!

2011-05-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

SOOOO...I haven't blogged in a while...BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN PAINTING!!! So I decided to do a series on flowers...because I love flowers as a subject..and it is a challenge to not create something that has been a subject for painters for EVER...so I did them in encaustics...each of these pieces is 1'x1'...I will download them each seperately but I wanted to show what they look like together....a real garden....

2011-03-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

I used gold in the backiground...very interesting...it behaves differently..the other waxes melt at 180 degrees...gold needs 200

2011-03-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

so this is sometimes how I decide to create a composition...I did not crop this photo ---see the gray? well, I think this would make an interesting painting later ...maybe with circles in that gray?

2011-03-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Isn't this interesting shape-wise? I had a teacher once...carla O'Connor...a really wonderful teacher and friend...who taught that you must divide the edges of the
canvas with different shapes..works here I think

2011-03-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

This was my first in the series and actually I was so excited with her that I decided to do the whole series

2011-03-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

needed some blue flowers...used to not like blue flowers (I thought) now I can't get enough of them in my garden..delphenium/plumbago/larkspur

2011-03-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

so down the road from our home in North Carolina is a guy who grows dahlias...lots and lots...and he has red dahlias that are just so very exciting...I like doing the flowers close up mostly...but then do some multiples for the overall piece

2011-03-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

gives me chills

2011-03-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

so...every painting I am thinking about the whole piece of 64 (or 36 if I get too tired of flowers) and so keep switching colors/backgrounds/shapes

2011-03-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

I love the lavender!

2011-03-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

the other good thing about doing a series and working small is that I can experiement freely...I mean, who really gets worried about a 1'x1' painting? But I am going to make this into a larger painting..I have a 30"x30" cradled encaustic board that I think I* will try...will keep you posted...when I first started encaustics I was taught with crayons...do you know how many white crayons this would take? and you have to buy a box of 8 for one....soooo..this is with R&F encaustics...way more expensive but easier

2011-03-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

what I love about flowers is they give you a chance to go wild!!! ever think about a flower? they are so abstract in their very nature..and so very different

2011-03-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

hmmmmmmm.

2011-03-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

YUP it really is this beautiful...thought I'd do a green piece...those are curled up ferns

2011-03-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

delicious WAX

2011-03-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

I love the green in this!

2011-03-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

I love this one...it has lots of movement! allof these are very different from what I have been doing in encaustics...I did a whole previous series with lots of texture...these are smooth as a baby's cheek

2011-03-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

so I wish I knew how to rotate this baby...but I guess you can figure it out

2011-03-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

two lips

2011-03-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

a purple hibiscus!!

2011-03-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

this is really upside down but I think it is still interesting..use your imagination

2011-03-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

so much fun

2011-03-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

soo what kind of flower is this? that is the point!...it is WAX!!! not a flower..just teasing...

2011-03-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

oooo a bit blurry...sorry

2011-03-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

now I am really excited about this new series I have been working on...each of these pieces are on 12"x12" cradled encaustic board...my vision is to do 64...so to be hung together on an 8 foot x 8 foot wall...so far I have done 36...I am gettin a little petered out...I have them laying on my garage floor so that is why this is from a strange angle..but they are pretty fresh and exciting...it is great working on a series...I know what I am going to paint when I wake up!! so the following 36 pictures are each of these...buckle down

2011-03-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

so what happened to the origial 2'x2' encaustic painting that I truly loved? well, I put her outside to photograph and LEFT HER OUT! this is a no-no in the Florida Sun...she is a lot like me in direct heat and sunlight...wrinkles and melting! so a HUGE lesson in encaustic care....DO NOT PUT IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT EVER!!! Encaustics melt at 200 degrees so must never be put in a window or left outside in say like a box or a car...I was able to 'repair' but not back to the original...maybe she is better!

2011-03-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

this really is juicy!