Beeswax: Week Three in the Studio

I’ve recently picked up encaustic painting and quickly I've become infatuated with it. I'm intrigued by its ability to build up thick texture and rich color. As well as have the ability to be translucent, ghostly even. So over the span of my third week, I started work on two small paintings, and to everyone’s surprise, including mine I happened to get pictures of them. In the picture below all three of the paintings I've done on wood panels are shown hanging on my studio pegboard. I'm quite pleased with these as visual reps of self expression. Using molten paint to compose these works was so cathartic and enlightening.

On Wednesday, we had a visiting artist at the studio, Jesse Albrecht. It was really fascinating to hear his story and the struggles he faces. He spoke very vulnerably and candidly about coping through his traumas of war, as well as keeping a lifelong interest in drawing. He referred to this as a lifetime of imagery, which really resonated with me as it's something I have done my whole life. I have this observable pool of imagery if you look through my sketchbooks over the years. You'll find things that were then and only materialized off the page now.

A definite highlight of the studio visit was Jesse letting every student make some sort of mark—whether small or significant—on each of his demo pieces. It's so refreshing to be around and experience artists who are aware of their limitations, but encourage teaching through collaboration. I'm quite proud of the marks that I got to leave on his pots.

Going forward I’m really excited to continue working with wax and exploring all collaborative opportunities. I have intentions of writing a show proposal and adverts to get my caustic paintings shown.

Pictures below are my encaustic paintings, my favorite work of Albrecht in his gallery show, and a picture of his work featuring himself and Professor Brian Harper