Artist Statement
My current work is in encaustic painting and
working with wax in mixed media.
I
am working with encaustic media because it allows me to explore colors and
textures, excavate back into previous layers and really exploit the versatility
of the medium. My painting
explores colors and patterns reflected in the exposed surface or hidden in the
interior natural environment, whether literal, or suggested.
I look to convey the contrast of the two in my work. This gives the viewer a peek into the turbulence often going on underneath or inside the presented surface image, whether earth, fire, wind or water. Once the base layers of the images are painted, I often shift to the process of writing or mark-making into the wax as if scribing on ancient tablets and repeat it until legibility gives way to pattern. The words become hidden and buried much like our own thoughts and memories that are jumbled deep in our brains. These “words turned into pattern” allows the viewer to engage more with the work as they attempt to decipher its hidden meaning.
