>I am blissfully consumed by a new series of large portraits of strangers, 36” x 40”, utilizing my usual repertoire of encaustic and mixed media. I tend to move the same vintage photographs around my studio for years, until one day, their juxtaposition to another photograph, a piece of paper or swatch of color makes them ripe.

This new group of about a dozen images is always on my mind. The facial expression and posture of the figure in the photograph influence the palette, lines and marks that I use to create the biographical abstract drawings and paintings. There is a dialogue between encaustic paint, image, paper and ephemera. I work on 3-4 paintings simultaneously because they inform each other and lead me to the next step. There are no rules for placement of the components, but some how they are there guiding me to find the right balance. My studio is humming. 
Work in progress:

5 Comments

  1. >HI Marybeth!I am enjoying this post very much…I like hearing how the strangers "talk" to you and to each other as they become art (ripe!!!!)I also enjoyed your post on the Triage class blog about what you learned about your writing: so honest and clear. Thanks, Liz

  2. >This is great i feel like you are sharing your process with me. I think my accountant writes my blog posts too!

  3. >I like this. I'm always interested in how other artists work and how their art comes together for them. You could easily expand this entry. Hope you're enjoying the class. I am.

  4. >Looks great-Nice to see the work in the studio!

  5. >Hi Marybeth,I’ve enjoyed getting to know you through Blog Triage. Like you, I am also interested in encaustic and other form of mixed media. It’s amazing how we could be using the same media, yet achieving extremely different results. Your art is absolutely stunning! Also, I love your sight, and looking forward to reading your blog posts. As for myself, I’m in the middle of switching my blog to WordPress. Hopefully, once there, I will be able to have my sight and blog at the same location/address. Meanwhile, I just want you to know that it’s a pleasure finding your page and reading about your work. Good luck with your art and happy bloggingAnne Frakerhttp://annefrakerstudio.blogspot.com/