Drift

Abstract

Encaustic 36"x 60"

“Drift" was created through the ancient process of encaustic painting. Layer upon layer luminous color, carving, and texture interact. The word encaustic comes from the Greek word, enkaustikos, meaning "to heat" or "to burn". The method of painting with wax came from ancient Greece where shipbuilders painted the hulls of their ships to seal, protect and decorate the surfaces. This led artists to use encaustic for easel painting and decoration of clay and marble sculptures, and on the ancient Fayum portraits of Egyptian mummy casings. The medium was lost in obscurity after the seventh century until twentieth century artists brought it back into popularity.

I find the process of encuastic painting to be limitless in possibility. In "Drift" handcrafted paints made of beeswax, resin, and natural earth pigments were applied hot on a heated wooden panel; each layer was then fused with a torch to the layer beneath. Through means of subtraction and translucent to opaque layers of color, the composition was revealed. It is my my hope that the viewer can empty, merge, or drift consciousness, finding a moment of visual serenity.