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ABOUT ME
Welcome and thank you for visiting!
I have always been creative however I have been seriously immersing myself in my artwork for over 25 years.
While I create in many media my favorite exploration is working in the ancient art of Encaustic which is painting with beeswax and fire.
I love the sensuality of applying hot wax to board and manipulating with flame. It has unique qualities that can only be achieved through layers and layers of melted wax, whether it be polished to glass like perfection or highly textured, encaustic paintings invite the viewer to come closer to touch and feel the work.
It truly is Art For The Senses!
I am inspired by the prairie landscape and nature. I love the play of light on the landscape, the darkness that moves across the land during an approaching storm or an abandoned building sitting in a field of bright yellow canola set against a summer blue sky or that soft silence that envelopes the world during the first snowfall. I am attempting to incorporate these feelings into my work and through it, to invite the viewer to participate through their own memories and imagination.
I believe that creativity is in all of us – it is our fears that hold us back. With that in mind, I have been able to explore and push myself to create.
I currently paint from my home-based studio in the City of Camrose in central Alberta, Canada. I invite you to sign up to follow my blog (find it in the menu above), follow me on Facebook Instagram and Pinterest
What is Encaustic
Encaustic Painting is an ancient art form using beeswax mixed with tree sap and fused with heat. It comes from the Greek word “encaustikos’ meaning to ‘burn in’.
It was a favored medium of the Fayum portrait artists who painted pharaohs and kings portraits on their mummy burial caskets. These portraits (Fayum Mummy Portraits) are still in museums today showing the longevity and durability of the encaustic medium.
The painting process uses melted beeswax & tree sap called Damar which hardens the wax. The mixtures is mixed with pigment to create the paint. The melted wax is brushed onto a wood panel and then heat, from a torch or heat gun) is applied to the wax to fuse it to the previous layers.
The encaustic paintings can be as smooth as glass or highly textured depending on the way it is applied and fused.