In 2009, after more than a decade as a silver gelatin printmaker, I began to combine encaustic paints and my photographic images. Made of wax and resin, encaustic painting was practiced by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B.C. In addition to its luminescent quality, I was drawn to encaustic for environmental reasons. Made from renewable materials, encaustic is free from solvents and chemicals, and it produces little waste.
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When combined with photographic images, encaustic imparts an ethereal and dreamlike quality. The works shown here are the result of numerous thin layers of encaustic, oil paint and pigment fused with a photographic image. They depict the intersection of the real and the abstract, and celebrate the beauty of nature’s essence.
I have been a full-time studio artist since 2003. In 2010, I was the recipient of a Regional Arts and Culture Commission Project Grant. My work is included in numerous private and corporate collections including: Swedish Medical Foundation Art Collection, Aegis of Bellevue, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, DelNor Community Hospital and Westside Kaiser Permanente.
www.raqueledwards.com
raqueledwards@gmail.com