Self Portraits

Self Portrait, 11 x 14 encaustic collage

Work in progress, 8 x 8 encaustic image transfer

I plan to refine some of the black paint and add another layer of wax medium.

This weekend was the first half of my final class toward the completion of my graduate degree. We spent the weekend reviewing our almost two years of learning in classes, writing papers, creating art, and now we have to organize our thoughts in order to put together our thesis papers and presentations. Wow.

I know for me it has been so incredible being this stimulated and inspired to create art, all kinds of art, and as a result I have discovered a love for the art of encaustic painting. I decided my thesis presentation will include the work I did at home, separate from the work I do for selling at shows. It's always been an interesting conversation when artists talk about the existence of two kinds of art; the art they make to sell, and the art they make for the sake of making art which is sometimes very personal and not always shared publicly.

We will also be having an art show for public viewing and this is where I will share my transition from watercolors to encaustics via the use of photography. I am on sensory overload thinking about all the things I need to do in the next few weeks but I wanted to share the final work I created this weekend, the culmination of my movement toward overcoming my personal fear of painting portraits. I no longer fear them...