I have recently considered at length working with the encaustic medium as it relates to the new series I’ve been painting. The encaustic medium has a life of its own and will not be tamed though as many encaustic artists will tell you we keep trying to unlock all the secrets. Unlocking the secrets often diverts attention from the main use of the medium, making an image. And after all, image making, speaking through the image is what painting is about…or at least partly so. Saying something you want to say that cannot be put into words.

The new paintings are the first series that have been born using my usual approach..totally unselfconscious as much as that is possible. You ask why is that so? Because it takes time and practice to let the process of image making overtake the rigors of painting with this intricate painting technique called encaustic. After close to fifteen years of wrangling with the medium, I am feeling closer to the image and further from the medium. Don’t get me wrong, encaustic is seductive and using it as my painting medium of choice is finally where I want to be but it is no longer ruling. I have freedom to use all my favorite mediums including paper and photographs in such a way that simply put gives me the textural richness I never found in any other. It is the closest to the sculptural form that I will achieve. Though I won’t count out three dimensional form quite yet.