JOURNAL CULTURE ENCAUSTIC continued from PAGE 27
“You can blow away something you love if you’re not careful,” Cato said. Artists can paint realistically or more abstractly, Kilburg said. Encaustic is translucent and a viewer can see into the layers, something that’s not always possible with acrylic or oils. “It gives it so much depth,” said Ziemer, who said working with encaustic has liberated his approach to his art. “I was always uptight and structured in my painting. You have to give up a lot of control. This has made art fun for me again.”
Other artists participating in the exhibition are Arlene Antonio, Dipti Bhide, Suzanne Bodson, Alexia Timberlake Boyd, Caroline Thomas Calder, Kellie Cawthon, Pat Cato, Jeanet Dreskin, Tricia Earle, Greg Flint, Paul Flint, Marie Gruber, Nadia Land-Greene, Laura Macpherson, Rosemary Moore, Marie Nitsche, Teri Pena, Teresa Prater, Susan Sorrell, Pat Spangler, Judy Verhoeven, Philip Whitley, Suzanne Young and Michael Ziemer. Kilburg and Macpherson organized the exhibit. “The works truly show what a diverse medium that encaustic can be in both 2-D and 3-D art,” said Alan Ethridge, executive director of MAC. “There has been a renewed interest in using wax in paintings for the last 20 years.” Encaustic’s popularity waned with the advent of tempera paints, Nodine said. “It was dormant for so long,” she said, until the discovery of the Fayum Portraits, or mummy portraits, in Egypt in the 1800s renewed interest in the medium. The portraits date to the Roman period, from the late first century. Jasper Johns used encaustic in some of his work, including his iconic “Flag” painting. “It came back to the public eye,” she said. Nodine said encaustic has caught on because artists have a curiosity and fascination about painting with wax and because it’s a natural material that is so versatile. Pat Cato, an acrylic painter, said she likes the ghostly appearance that the wax gives the work. “The wax just looks alive,” she said. Artists can push the colors in different ways depending on the temperature used to fuse the layers of wax.
SO YOU KNOW WHAT: Some Like It Hot: Encaustic Art in the Upstate WHO: 26 artists from the Upstate WHERE: Metropolitan Arts Council gallery, 16 Augusta St., Greenville WHEN: Through April 12 RECEPTION: Friday, March 8, 6:30-9 p.m. INFORMATION: 864-467-3132
GREG BECKNER / STAFF
WORK BY ARTIST PAT CATO
WORK BY ARTIST TERESA PRATER
(LEFT) Upstate artist and art instructor Pat Kilburg demonstrates one of the differences of encaustic art as compared to traditional painting.
WORK BY ARTIST JUDY VERHOEVEN
WORK BY ARTIST TERI PENA
28 THE JOURNAL | MARCH 8, 2013
Contact Cindy Landrum at clandrum@communityjournals.com.