Castle...

...but whose?

Done in acrylics in Pthalo Blue, Titanium White, and Burnt Sienna, in a one inch flat brush and a small brush.

This is my entry today for my challenge to myself of a pic a day every day in 2017.

But I have been playing with my encaustic art for the last few days in and off. I had problems getting the hang of the light touch needed when 'ironing' on the wax. The first couple of days were frustrating and I began to think I had wasted my money and it wasn't my thing.

Anyway I gave myself 3 days to really get into it. Forget housework (oops I forget that anyway...), but you know what I mean...

Today was the second intensive day with it, and I have been watching you tube vids to try and learn technique. Finally I had the iron on and am trying to copy as they are doing it...but it was frustrating.

Then I came across some German videos and some Russian ones, and some others but I didn't have a clue what the language was but mostly East European. You Tube simply said no subtitles in English available....

But I watched them anyway. This was a revelation. They were doing the ironing work slowly and surely and in a different direction to the main guy on You Tube who does his iron work quick, quick, quick and there is your finished encaustic painting seconds later...sigh...I couldn't learn from him, just got frustrated.

But watching the German and Russian videos, which were done in a much more leisurely manner, I could follow and learn the twists and turns they did, but most importantly how to get that first layer on smoothly and over the whole piece of card, which I couldn't do watching the quick quick quick guy. Obviously a lot I missed cos I don't know Russian or German, but just watching and replaying bits of videos I then began to get the hang of it today...but disaster struck...the electricity went off. Strange I thought. Flicked the switch back on the electric board. All was fine again. Then a short while later electric went off again.

Was this the iron I thought? It had not been plugged in all day. I had just had lunch and it been off for a couple of hours. So I went to a different socket with this new encaustic iron. Plugged it in but the electric went off again. So something wrong with my new encaustic iron. So this will be going back.

But I was frustrated as I had promised myself three days to get the hang of this encaustic lark...so I painted this painting today in acrylics and as I finished it I had a brainwave...

I will let you know my brainwave tomorrow, but it meant I could still play with my encaustics...