Aganetha Dyck, Closest to Her, 2007, Courtesy Michael Gibson Gallery
Bees Wax
I was thinking about encaustic paintings today. Russell Thurston’s paintings (below) caught my curiosity as they appeared in the documentary, Mining the Unconscious by Marcelina Martin Painting with pigment and bees wax can point back to medieval iconic (religious) imagery on boards planked together before canvas or fabrics and conveys links to nature and the environment, and as a great preservative that harkens back to 800 B.C. Thurston uses it in personal/universal spiritual images and meaning. When I was introduced to the medium in a workshop, the smell of bees wax that lingered intriqued me for days later, weeks. When the painting lost its smell, so did the process of encaustic painting appeal to me. I cannot forget, however, the medium leads to the phenomenology of bees.
Aganetha Dyck, Sports Night in Canada: Helmet 2000, helmet, honeycomb, Kelowna Art Gallery.
Interview with Aganetha Dyck @ Candian Art.
Jasper Johns' most emblematic, Flag, 1954-55, Encaustic, oil, collage on fabric on plywood. 42 x 61 in. Museum of Modern Art, (USA)
To see more of Russell Thurston paintings.
All Things Encaustic, Toronto.
