Spring provides a lively moment of texture and color on southern Idaho's high desert before heat and drought reduce it to arid monotone.
Weather rolls across unobstructed skies in theatrical display as ravens squawk in the wind, a raucous ballad in a barren landscape.
Reminders of human attempts to tame and control the barren terrain curl and cut the wind, Nature's decisive refusal to concede.
I try to mirror my subjects with the processes of encaustic painting. Spreading molten wax with blowtorches, I have to accept both the limits and the serendipity of the media and roll with it. Layer upon layer of varnish, wax, and pigments are bonded with fire, sealing the past to the present and shaping the future of each piece. I add and subtract, incising lines and shapes, layering translucent wax, allowing colors to meld of their own accord. The process of controlling and letting go gives me satisfaction and hope that a clear, cohesive piece of art will ultimately emerge