My recent works are a combination of encaustic paintings and pieces of photographs I have taken during my travels around the globe collaged together. Photographs inherently freeze moments in time, but by combining the photographic images with encaustic painting, I am able to use shape and texture to create a sense of movement with each creation.
Some of my encaustic collages feature animals swimming underwater and flying in the air. A second series are of ancient religious icons from Southeast Asia. I also have created a series based on modes of transportation I witnessed while living in the Far East: motorcycle riders in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, wooden boats in Vietnam, and people riding elephants in Thailand.
The encaustic painting technique, with color pigment embedded in layers of hot wax, is one of the oldest painting techniques, dating back to Greece, for murals, and Egypt where Fayum mummy portraits were painted over 2200 years ago. These portraits, painted on small wooden panels, were attached to mummy cases or the mummy wrappings. The vibrancy of the colors is fixed in the wax, preventing fading over time.