I ’ ve always envied people who find their passion early in life . As a child my passions were being outdoors , drawing and painting . As I grew into adulthood these activities slipped away as other interests and obligations took over . In my mid 30 ’ s I found some free time on my hands and began taking college level art classes . A long-dormant part of myself came back to life and I discovered that making art was fulfilling beyond words . I continued my studies and eventually earned a degree in Art Education . My studio concentration was painting and my medium of choice was acrylic paint .
By this time I had learned a lot about different mediums and techniques , famous artists and art movements . But when I imagined myself becoming a working artist I had no idea what I wanted to say with my art , which medium best suited my purpose or how to go about getting my art seen . For 10 years I painted in my spare time struggling to find out what my purpose was .
Then , in a flash all that changed in the summer of 2010 while vacationing in New York City . My husband and I were traveling through the South Ferry Subway Station and I was enthralled by a beautiful installation of haunting tree silhouettes on translucent glass panels by artists Doug and Mike Starn . After researching their work I discovered the installation was based on their large-scale tree photographs coated with un-pigmented encaustic medium . Like someone possessed I scoured the internet for everything I could find about encaustic art .
South Ferry Subway Station , New York , NY , 2010