Recording forms and responding to evolving visual structures while walking the line between abstraction and representation, encaustic artist Scott Vanidestine creates paintings that become maps containing a visual and physical typography of thought and emotion. Scott is a 2010 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, receiving Bachelor of Arts degrees in Studio Art Practice and Design Arts with emphases in drawing, encaustic, acrylic, print media and web design.Encaustic is the ancient art of painting with molten wax and pigment. Vanidestine uses a mixture of locally produced Wisconsin beeswax with oil paint to create a variety of colors that are lush and luminous. Pollen in the beeswax gives the encaustic a glowing yellow undertone and a distinctive fragrance. The encaustic medium is versatile enough to allow for fine etching and sgraffito (similar to techniques used in printmaking and drawing) or rough carving (sculpture and relief). Each layer of encaustic is fused to the previous layer using a propane torch. The encaustic can be quickly melted down or carefully built up. Various techniques create depth and texture.
"I see my work as an evolving personal history that relates to the figure of the body. Through experimentation with the encaustic media the work unfolds through the process of making (the interaction of materials and forms) which shapes both the idea and final work. I start with a piece of plywood. The ply of the wood is both revealed and concealed through the process of building up and taking away layers of encaustic. I burn the surface of the wood to blacken and either obliterate or enhance the wood grain. I work intuitively while relying on ideas of organic, biomorphic, and geometric shapes. The shapes are reminiscent of living organisms, cellular structures, and body forms or faces. I investigate the relationships between paint as physical substance and paint as skin, painting as text, and the painting as object."
Oh spell-checking gods I do apologize - and you missed the word containing - that was incorrect, too - oh well - all posts are submitted with good intentions of spreading the word about good art. Mission accomplished beyond the words, especially so late in my day.
ReplyDelete