Linda Foley , Source Photograph for The Curse of the Beignet
Originally , I started working in the traditional technique of photo encaustic , that is , printing my photo on paper , securing it to a substrate , and applying layers of medium on top . What I did differently than many artists , was to apply layers of powdered pastels not as a means to add colour or ambiance , but rather to alter the photograph entirely changing the composition . For example , the piece entitled , The Curse of the Beignet ( currently included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Encaustic Art ) started with a photograph of my husband sitting at the famous Café du Monde in New Orleans , enjoying a delicious beignet . As I watched him devour this sweetness , I began to imagine him in a Mardi Gras masquerade . And so , when I got home , I began the process of a photo encaustic , and on the top layer of the medium started applying and fusing several layers of powdered pastels , slowly transforming him into his imagined disguise . I worked on a series of these figure works , each transforming the subject into something other than the original photograph .