La Familia. Mary Black.
36 " x 36" 1914 x 91 4 em!.
encaustic. mixed media
on wooden panel.
The painting, La Familia, was created using encaustic paint. What makes
encaustic, ~encaustic~ is that each layer of paint must be fused, using a heat
gun, onto the previous applicotion of point. It's an amazing process in that
the material becomes solid and hard very quickly. In this particular painting,
which is on a birch panel, a variety of col/age materials are used. some from
very old newspapers. The wax surface has been drawn onto with charcoal,
which works very well with the encaustic paint. Using this medium allows
the creation of transparencies and oftentimes glasslike surfaces. Because
this piece become quite thick in some areas, the paint wos scraped away,
revealing what's underneath and the history of the painting process.