artist statement
Whether admiring it or creating it I have always turned to art to sooth my soul. Master of none and a dabbler by nature, many creative outlets seemed unable to hold my focus for long until I found encaustic. I was immediately won over by the push and the pull required to work with this medium. Encaustic feels like an alchemical dance between the paint, the flame, and the vision of what you hope to create. It is a medium that requires surrender, curiosity, and the ability to problem solve when the paint develops a life of its own (which it most certainly will). You will never have full control with encaustic, and I find that fact rather beautiful.
I began encaustic in the spring of 2019. I have spent my time since then discovering what it is capable of while trying to find my own voice in these wax creations. An introvert by nature and a lover of quiet places, I find refuge in natural landscapes, old libraries, museums, and ancient churches. Having been fortunate enough to stand in many across Europe and the United Kingdom, I have drawn my inspiration from the art held in these places and the moments of calm I have found in their presence. From portraits, still life paintings, ancient books and texts to the architecture that houses them…standing in front of an object or place that feels imbued with a magic — a magic that could only come from existing for so many lifetimes before your own — is a feeling I never grow tired of. It is my hope that I’ve been able to weave even a small amount of this feeling into my paintings. I hope that someone might look at one of my paintings and find refuge, a stolen moment between them and the art that quiets their mind, calms their heart, and soothes their soul.