When I purchased my home in 2002 , it had a newly built garage , which became the work in progress that is my studio today . Last year , I was honored to receive the prestigious Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant , and that enabled further studio upgrades and helped bring my work to a new level of maturity .
The “ Red Doors of Abundance ” to Wagner ’ s studio
I am often asked how it is I came to encaustic painting . While in college I went to work at Gamblin Artist ’ s Colors , painting color charts . This provided me with an invaluable education in color as well as the uses and combinations of artist materials . With that as my foundation , and as a young artist starting out , I sought ways to apply heavy collage materials in my paintings and embed objects to make them float . I worked with vellum acetate , Mylar and even polyester resin , but to no avail . The answer to my dilemma appeared in the form of an encaustic demonstration in 1992 .