Maelstrom II

This painting is made with two layers. The top layer is sculpted veneered wood, partially burnt with a torch, and then painted with encaustic and damar resin (sap from a tree in Indonesia). This is encased in a handmade frame that has had crystalline salts grown on the bottom with then a polymer resin poured over the top. On occasion, the salts will continue to grow depending on the environment in which the painting is hung. They only get more beautiful and rich when these patterns develop.

Encaustic is a wax based paint which is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to an absorbent surface and then reheated in order to fuse the paint. It is as versatile as any medium. Encaustic paintings do not have to be varnished or protected by glass because it is the most durable of all artists' paints. This is because beeswax is impervious to moisture, which is one of the major causes of deterioration in artwork. Buffing encaustic will give luster and saturation to the color.

Encaustic must not be hung in direct sun or left in a hot car.