The act of creating a permanent interpretation of a place that speaks profoundly to my soul is what you see before you today. many artists before me have grown to know that the communion with nature and the experience of the creative act is a holy one. When I reflect on a place, I meditate, and in so doing, the act of creation of a place is sacred. many artists see the creative act as prayer.
I begin the process with recording the place using watercolour and photography. This offers a quick accurate recording of the topography of the land. its reflects the tradition of early military officers and topographers who carefully recorded our land as they travelled from the east coast to the interior of canada. throughout my life, watercolour has been as common as holding a camera and provides a quick meaningful record for later.
once taken into the studio, the ‘place’ begins its slow and careful interpretation using encaustic painting. I only use clean unbleached beeswax from a local farm in prince edward county. all the works in this exhibition have been selected from the gatineau, eastern ontario, and the bay of quinte penninsula. these are the places i have come to know and have grown to profoundly appreciate and I share them with you today.
The word ENCAUSTIC comes from the greek, ‘enkaustikos’ meaning to literally burn in, as in the process of burning wax into a surface for a permanent stable image. the painting requires applying of layers of successive strokes of beeswax blended with oil paint. each layer is burned into the body of wax using a heat gun. There are ancient Greek art works in this medium that still have a rich vibrant array of colours, so the encaustic landscape will always maintain its colour and beauty.
take a walk through these sacred places and enjoy them with me. i hope these places speak to you as they have to me.
This work is terrific, Linda. What an incredible medium. You're doing some amazing things with it.
ReplyDeleteWhy, thanks so much, Mike! I am still learning so much about the medium and am now working on a eery, cool, and remote series landscapes inspired by my trip last winter to Whitehorse and Dawson City in the Yukon. in November, I'll be able to past a few representative works to show you.
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