The Journey...

My artist journey began as a photographer, creating both fine art and portraiture photographs for my clients. When I saw encaustic wax painting for the first time, I knew that I had to incorporate this ancient form of art into my modern work.

Today, I use a hands-on approach to make images that blend the old and the new and that reflect my love and appreciation for the natural world.
My process is studio intensive but starts outdoors with experience, photography and drawing providing the visual and emotive references that come back into the studio to be created.

Through encaustic wax painting, I create images with depth that bring life to formerly flat photographs.  This combination of modern photographic technology and ancient wax manipulation produces a truly unique image with life and movement that has elements of both still photography and traditional wax painting.

I hope you enjoy my art as much as I’ve enjoyed making it.

About Photo-encaustic

Encaustic is the earliest known form of paint, predating oil, fresco and tempera, first used by the Greeks over 2,000 years ago. The ancient art form involves fusing layers of oil tinted beeswax together with various heating techniques. As the layers are built up, materials can be encased or collaged into the surface, or layered, using the encaustic medium to stick them to the surface. Metal tools and special brushes can be used to shape the paint before it cools, or heated metal tools can be used to manipulate the wax once it has cooled onto the surface. Today, tools such as heat lamps, heat guns, and other methods of applying heat allow artists to extend the amount of time they have to work with the material. Encaustic art is one of the longest-lasting due to the nature of the medium – wax stays put!

Photo-encaustic is the addition of photography into the encaustic medium and can be done in several ways. I have chosen the photo collage style of photo-encaustic.

By collaging several aspects of my photography I can create something new and unique. A piece of art that expresses my inner feelings, my dreams, my vision.