Mixing It Up -
Using Photography , Oil Painting , Collage , and Encaustic Together
I have always been interested in using multiple processes in my work to get the effect that I want . I have taken photographs since in my early twenties but in the last 10 years some of these photos are showing up in my work . I studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute in the mid 90 ’ s . My current work starts with a photograph , and then I add oil paint and the last step is the addition of encaustic . The photo ends up being the focal point . I paint the backgrounds with oil paint . I add the encaustic as a glaze and to give it a dreamlike quality . I like the combination that plays with the idea of what is real and what is not .
My current series of work is called Altered Reality . It is a melding of still life , landscape and surrealism . These works are about contrasts and differences ; they are playful and dream-like . I like putting together odd and ordinary things . I also like the merging of the photos into the paint . It is a way to emphasize what is real and what is not .